Mobile Suit Gundam: Miracle Ver2
by 117Jorn
Summary: A rewrite of MSGS Miracle with the same plot, only with a few personal edits. This is how I was originally going to write it. Retelling of MSGS. Fem-KiraxOC, OCxLacus, OCxFlay, AthrunxCagalli OCxOC RATED M NOW FOR A REASON!
1. Mecha Page

"_Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Let's Rock and Roll!_"-Jordan Takeo

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-X001 'Hero'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Multi-purpose mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> A.R.C Reactor

**Armor:** Gundarium Alloy  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors Range unknown, Pananormic Cockpit  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, 2x beam saber (mounted on the shoulders), 2x Beam Dagger (Hidden in lower waist) 1x Exia Sword/Rifle (Retractable, fixed on right arm, retracts to Forearm when not in use, In hand when in use.)

**Optional Armament:** 1x Katana short sword (Holstered on left hip), 1x Katana long sword (Holstered on right hip), 1x Beam rifle, Shield, left fore-arm mounted; 1x Beam Magnum (Like the one the RX-0 Unicorn has, holds two extra clips on chest)  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Jordan Takeo  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Appearance wise, it resembles the Wing Gundam Ver. Ka  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Primary Blue with Gold and Red trim. White thighs, biceps, and face.  
><strong>Info:<strong> One of the 2 Prototypes armed with an ARC Reactor

OoOoOo

"_Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Let's slice e'm up!_"-Matthew Takeo

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-X002 'Warrior'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Close-Quarter combat mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> A.R.C Reactor  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Mirage colloid, Sensors**  
>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2x60mm Vulcan Gun(Fire-link on head), 2x Beam saber (Holstered on shoulders), 2x "Armor Schneider" combat knives (Hidden in thigh holsters), 2x "Kotetsumaru" Katana's (Holstered on hips), 1x "Senkoumaru" Naginata (Holstered on back)

**Optional Armament:** 1x Beam Scythe, 1x Trikeros Offensive/Defensive shield system (same weapons the blitz has), 1x 57mm "Shoryumaru" High-energy beam rifle,  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Matthew Takeo  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Body is that of the Musha Gundam Mk. II, while the head is that of the Deathscythe HELL.  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Black with Gold trimming

oOoOoOo

"_I'll kill all of you!_"- Kane Hellfury

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-X003 'Monster'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Multi-purpose mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> A.R.C Reactor  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Lunar Titanium  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, fire-linked in head; 2x beam saber, mounted in shoulders, hand-carried when in use; 2x Heat saber holstered on hips, hand-carried when in use; 2x wrist-mounted beam saber, 2x Palm-mounted beam cannon;

**Pilot:** Kane Hellfury  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Appearance wise, it resembles the GF13-001NHII Master Gundam  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Primary Black with Red trim. Black thighs, biceps, and face.

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-X100 'Dynasty'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype all-purpose mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Ultra Compact Energy Battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor, Flight pack  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, fire-linked in head; 2 x Beam Saber, holstered on hips, hand-carried when in use; 2x energy transfer cable;

**Optional Fixed Armament:** 'Exia Kai III' Sword/Rifle, mounted on right forearm, slides down to hand when in use; Missile Shield, mounted on left arm, 4 x Missile pods, 5 x Hydra-class missiles per pod;

**Optional Armament:** Type 71-beam rifle, stored on hip, hand carried in use; MA-22Z prototype high density beam sniper;  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Ryu Hisanaga  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the GFN-013NJ Yamato Gundam with the Aile Strike pack, but the V crest can come down like the Dyname's can.  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Primary Red with black trim and woodland green on thighs, and Biceps. White face with Golden double V head crest

OoOoOoOo

**Model Number:** GAT-X317  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Thunder  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Transformable High-Speed Ariel attack Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultra Compact energy battery  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift Armor;  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2 x beam saber, mounted in front skirt, hand-carried when in use; Shield/Heat Blade, mounted on left knee fin when in MA mode, left fore-arm mounted when in use; Beam SMG, holstered on lower back when not in use, underneath when in MA mode, hand-carried when In use, usable in both modes

**Optional Armaments:** 2 x arm-mounted rocket launcher; 18 x Bombs; 14 x Missiles  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Amy Serria  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the GN-003 Kyrios  
><strong>Colors:<strong> White with blue trim.  
>Info: Arguably one of the fastest of the G-Weapons. It is the sister unit of the Lightning<p>

OoOoOoOo

**Model Number:** GAT-X130  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Ghost  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype General Purpose Stealth Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultra Compact energy battery  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor; Mirage Colloid; Sensor Scrambler  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x Beam Saber, mounted on shoulders, hand-carried when in use; 1 x Beam Handgun, mounted on left arm;

**Optional Armaments:** Type 72 Beam Rifle  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Nena Kojima  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the GNW-003 Gundam Throne Drei  
><strong>Colors:<strong> White with Black trim  
>Info:<p>

OoOoOoOo

**Model Number:** GAT-X290  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Shadow  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Sniper Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultra Compact energy battery  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor; Mirage Colloid;  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x Beam Saber, mounted on shoulders, hand-carried when in use;

**Optional Armaments:** Beam Sniper Rifle  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Johann Kojima  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the GNW-001 Gundam Throne Eins  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Black with Red trim  
>Info:<p>

OoOoOoOo

**Mobile Unit Serial Number:** GAT-X310 'Grizzly'

**Unit Type:** Prototype Heavy Assault Transformable Mobile Suit

**Powerplant:** Ultracompact energy Battery, power output rating unknown

**Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Lunar Titanium, reinforced Titanium steel plating

**Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung'"75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted on head; 2 x "Schlag" 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon, mounted on backpack over shoulders; "Kaefer Zwei" 115mm dual ram cannon, mounted on shield connected to left arm; 2x beam claws, hidden on wrist.

**Optional armaments:** Type 71-beam rifle, stored on hip, hand carried in use; hyper bazooka

**Pilot(s):** Lev Mikhail

**Appearance:** Looks like the Full Armour Zeta Gundam With the Calamity's shield and backpack. Has a Bear-like MA mode

**Colors:** Primary dark brown with black trim and light brown joints and face

OoOoOo

**Mobile Unit Serial Number:** GAT-X220 'Lighting'

**Unit Type:** Prototype High Speed Attack Mobile Suit

**Powerplant:** Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown

**Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Lunar Titanium, light wave pulse flight pack

**Fixed armaments**: 2 x "Igelstellung'"75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted on head; 2 x beam saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; shield, mounted on left arm

**Optional armaments:** Type 71-beam rifle, stored on hip, hand carried in use; Bazooka

**Pilot(s):** Yuuka Mizuki

**Appearance:** Looks like the F91 Gundam but has the Aile Strike's flight pack instead of the twin boosters and the shoulder 'fins' are removed

**Colors: **White with red trim and red chest

**Author notes:** loosely based off of Akatsuki Leader13's Surge gundam but using the F91's base instead.

OoOoOo

"_Raven huh. Well, let's see what this thing can do." _Chris Dante

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-X305 'Raven'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype attack use transformable mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Phase Shift Armor  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, 2x beam saber (mounted on the hips), 1x dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon (usable in both modes)  
><strong>Mobile Armor Mode Armament:<strong> 2x "Ahura Mazda" short-range energy cannon, 2x M2M3 76mm machinegun  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Christopher Dante  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Appearance wise, it resembles the Raider Full Spec, save it possess the Raider's dual shield cannon and the additional thrusters on the back of the legs.  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Primary midnight blue with red trim. White thighs, biceps, and face.  
><strong>Info:<strong> The Raven is the predecessor to the GAT-333 Raider Full Spec and the technologically superior GAT-X370 'Raider'. Originally, it was suppose to the second last G-Weapon to be completed in Heliopolis. But due to a accident early in its construction, it was almost scrapped altogether, but ultimately it was completed the day before the attack on Heliopolis. As a result of this, Rau Le Creuset and the team he sent to Heliopolis, were completely unaware of its construction and completion. Like the Raider and the Raider Full Spec, the Raven can transform into a bird-like Mobile Armour and can double as a atmospheric flight platform for other Mobile Suits.  
><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> This is Akatsukileader13's Raven Gundam.

OoOoOo

"_To protect them I _will_ fight with Raptor_" Elizabeth 'Liz' Dante

**Mobile Unit Serial Number: **GAT-X311 'Raptor'

**Unit Type:** Prototype Transformable attack Mobile Suit

**Powerplant:** Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown

**Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor

**Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung'"75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted on head; 2 x beam saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; shield, mounted on left arm, 2x rail gun, mounts on shoulder; 4x missile pods with 10x Hydra missile's per pod, stored in shield, usable only in jet form

**Optional armaments: **Type 71-beam rifle, stored on hip, hand carried in use, mounts on main body in jet form

**Pilot(s):** Liz Dante

**Appearance: **Looks like the MSN-001 Delta Gundam, but with the 0 Gundam's head

**Colors:** Light blue primary with red trim and bronze joints.

**Info:** Third transformable mobile suit created at Heliopolis, designed for atmospheric flight and combat it was the final machine created at Heliopolis.

**Authors Note: **…what can I say? I just love this one.


	2. Chapter 1: Brothers, and a false peace

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original Gundam seed characters or mobile weapons, nor do I own Chris, Liz, Johanna or Nick Dante, nor do I own the Raven Gundam, those belong to Akatsukileader13, I also do not own Ryu Hisanaga, Lev Mikhail, Yuuka Mizuki, the Grizzly Gundam, the or the Lightning Gundam. They are the property of DragonKnightRyu**

**However, I **_**do **_**own Hero Gundam, Monster Gundam, Warrior Gundam, Raptor Gundam, and Thunder Gundam. Along with Jordan Takeo, Matthew Takeo, Kane Hellfury, and Amy Sierra.**

**AN: This is how I **_**was **_**going to write the original Miracle. This version does not have the World with No Boundaries, and there are less Ace Combat 5 References…with the exception of a few that I wanted to keep in. **

**So anyways, please enjoy Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Miracle Ver.2**

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

Orb Union Satellite Colony Heliopolis

Heliopolis was an aging, Island Three habitat/O'Neill cylinder colony, constructed by the neutral Orb Union at Lagrange Point 3, directly opposite the orbit of Luna, the Earth's moon. Construction of the colony began in Cosmic Era 30, and was completed a few years later. Although it couldn't reproduce the sort of lush natural environments that the newer PLANT colonies of L5 could, it still possessed a beautiful environment.

And it was perhaps the most peaceful location in all of space.

The PLANTs of L5 were the homeland of the ZAFT organization, which was born for the purpose of establishing independence for the PLANTs from their sponsor nations. The colonies of L1, L2, and L4 had all belonged to various Earth nations involved in the conflict, and had almost all collapsed during the eleven months of war. A few were still intact, but abandoned, and the neutral lunar city of Copernicus was too close to the Earth Alliance Force's Ptolemaeus lunar base to be able to truly relax, as the people of Heliopolis could. Despite the presence of the nearby Eurasian military satellite Artemis, the base held no strategic significance, and had been entirely ignored by ZAFT up to this point.

"Hard to believe that ZAFT actually attacked Kaohsiung, I wonder if ORB will be alright?" A 16 year old female said directing the question to the man sprawled on the bench beside her. She was around 5'5" with wavy chocolate brown hair that fell just past her shoulder blades that framed amethyst colored eyes that sparkled with kindness; she had a slender frame with C-cup breasts, and was wearing a sleeveless black dress shirt along with black jeans and running shoes.

"To be honest Kira I'm surprised that they didn't attack Kaohsiung sooner due to the mass driver being there" the male teen said lazily yawning towards the end "and as for ORB, not even ZAFT is cocky enough for that due to the fact that ORB has some of the most advanced technology in the world. Taking on ORB _and _the EA would be suicide." At 18 he was around 5'12" in height with light brown hair in a military crew-cut and laughing green eye's, he had a solid build that spoke of a martial artist, he wore a white undershirt underneath an open blue button up t-shirt, along with a pair of comfortable blue jeans and sneakers.

"I know" sighed Kira "but it doesn't stop me from worrying about it Ryu."

Kira's gaze then focused on the third and last member of their group. The last one looked to be 16 to 17 years old and was around 5'7 with short brown hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, had a white T-Shirt underneath a red polo shirt. His feet were kicked up on the table, and in his lap was a black Lap-top witch his eyes never left. His left hand was typing away faster than anyone either of them has seen, while his right was using the Mouse. In his ears were a pair of red Earphones, but both Kira and Ryu could hear the music clearly. It was Papa Roach's 'Getting away with Murder'

Kira tapped his shoulder grabbing his attention. "Jordan," Kira said exasperated, "if you wanna listen to such horrible music, could you at least turn it down, we can hear it through your headphones."

"Hey, just because you don't like my music, Kira, doesn't mean that it's bad." Jordan responded as he pulled out one of his headphones. "This work would go faster if somebody helped!" she said.

"Hey, I already did my part last night," Jordan retorted.

"How?" Ryu asked jokingly, "Do you not need to sleep?"

"Unlike you, Ryu," Jordan responded, "Not at all."

"Ya well were all just human." Kira said. "We actually need to sleep, ya know?" Jordan smirked at that.

"Well if I were you I would be more worried about the revisions to the Operating System (OS) that the professor gave you."Ryu said slyly with a chuckle. Though they all looked like siblings at a distance, however, a closer look would tell otherwise. "I know that Ryu," Kira huffed "but isn't this something you should do? I mean you are the Professor's assistant after all."

"Well Kira to be honest I am not the greatest at it, besides _my_ reasonability is to fix all the stuff that you and your friends break." Ryu countered with a laugh as Kira blushed.

"Well if _someone_ didn't cross the wires wrong than it would have worked!" Kira yelled in embarrassment at her friend/mentor who only laughed harder.

"Hey _I _wasn't the one who designed that deathtrap so don't blame me if the schematics were wrong!" He shouted back as he dodged a ball of paper that Kira threw at his head.

"He's got a point, Kira." Jordan said. "Believe me when I say, that could have gone a _LOT _worse than what happened."

"How?" Kira asked. "We blew up almost half the garage, what could have been worse?"

"You could have blown the whole garage." He said, and chuckled.

"Shut up!"Kira shouted back as she crossed her arms across her chest and huffed in agitation "I swear you two live just to tease me."

"Of course he does, if he didn't who knows how tense you would be Kira." a mirthful voice said, turning they saw a 5'4" tall male with brown hair and green eyes and a average build, beside him was a 5'3" tall girl with brown hair, blue eyes and a slender frame.

"Plus it's kinda cute how the two of you act like a married couple." The girl giggled as Kira blushed an interesting shade of crimson and Ryu slipped out of his seat and landed on his ass. Jordan just grinned and chuckled.

"Mir!" Kira shouted at the girl as the said girl started laughing harder "It's not like that!"

"Sure Kira whatever you say, right Tolle?" Mirralia Haw teased as she playfully elbowed her boyfriend Tolle who was laughing, along with Jordan, at Ryu's flustered expression.

"Professor Kato needs you back at the lab." He said. "Please tell me he doesn't have more work for us?" Jordan pleaded. Tolle nodded. "Are you kidding me?" Kira asked/shouted incredulously "I haven't even finished the last stuff he gave me!"

"Not to mention me and Jordan are still working on that blueprint for the Deep Space Survey and Development's (DSSD) newest mobile suit design he wanted us to look over." Ryu chipped in as a green and yellow metallic bird landed on Kira's shoulder.

"Birdie?" It chirped mockingly at Ryu who glared at the machine.

"I. Hate. That. Bird. MOCKING ME!" He shouted pointing at Birdie with a tick mark on his forehead as everyone laughed at him "Why does that that damned bird mock me?"

"'Cause he knows you hate it." Kira giggled "and because it's funny." She added quickly dancing out of Matt's reach as he took a small swipe at her growling before taking chase throwing paper balls at her as the others followed laughing.

"I'm good." Jordan said, fully removing his ear phones. "Finished it last night."

"Like I just said," Kira said. "We are all just human. You however are not."

Tolle walked into the gazebo, glancing at Kira's laptop.

"Some development in the news?" asked Tolle.

"Yeah," said Kira. "Taiwan apparently." She double clicked on the open news window, maximizing it, and turned up the volume a little. Intrigued, Matthew and Jordan straightened up slightly and leaned over a bit to stare at the screen intently.

The window displayed a news reporter in a city, and behind him, smoke could be seen rising into the air, as well as a pair of ZAFT mobile suits: a ZGMF-1017 GINN, the standard of their forces, and a ZGMF-515 CGUE, used by frontline commanders and aces in space.

"_I'm within seven kilometers of Kaohsiung, where the sounds of fierce combat continue to echo,_" said the reporter. Tolle gasped slightly

"If this is footage from last week, they may have already taken over Kaohsiung," he said.

"Yeah," murmured Kira in agreement, hitting the switch to close and hibernate the laptop.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" asked Mir, surprising the others. "If ZAFT can capture and hold all three spaceports, then the war will end."

"No, that's not how the E.A works, though." Jordan said. "If ZAFT captures all the Mass Drivers, who has the last Mass Driver that's not under ZAFT jurisdiction?"

"Orb's…" Mir muttered.

"Exactly." Jordan said. "If Zaft captures all of the Mass Drivers, the E.A could get desperate enough to invade Onogoro to gain access to our Mass Driver. Though they'd have to be pretty desperate, but seeing how liberal they were when at bloody Valentine…" he let it trail off there, and a look of sorrow spread across his face.

"You…lost someone there, didn't you?" Ryu asked. Jordan sighed and nodded. "Ya…my older brother Matthew." He said. "I'd…rather not talk about it."

"I understand." Ryu said. "Anyways, let's get going."

_ORB Space Colony Heliopolis _Marseille III-_class_

"Y'know Capt. we are either very lucky or walking straight into a trap if that Nazca-class that been following us hasn't attacked us yet," Said a 6' tall blonde haired blue eyed lieutenant with a sinewy frame and lightly tanned skin. "Because I am getting a bad feeling about this."

"Mu you are to paranoid for your own good, how do you sleep at night?" The Capt. asked with a chuckle. Turning serious he said "ZAFT wouldn't dare to try anything now that we are docked in a neutral colony"

"I don't know Capt. my gut hasn't proved me wrong yet," Warned Mu La Flagga "The last time I ignored the feeling Endymion happened and I rather not have this colony destroyed thank you."

The Captain sighed as he looked at the ace pilot "ZAFT is a strong organization and the only reason this war went on is because ORB has maintained its policy of neutrality," He explained as he looked out the viewport at the work crews that are resupplying the ship "they would not dare upset the neutrality that has kept ORB out of this."

Before Mu could respond however several pilots came in and requested permission to disembark. "We would like to get familiar with our new machines as soon as possible." one of the pilots explained to the captain.

"Very well and do be careful ZAFT may have spy's posted here." The captain said as he saluted. He turned to Mu with a resigned look "Do you think they will be alright?" He asked.

"Honestly Captain those kids won't last too long in the machines the Operating System(OS) is far too complicated to be operated during a fight." Mu said honestly with a sigh as a faraway look crossed his face "If only _he_ was still here, than we would at least have a chance at making a better OS."

The Captain grunted his agreement as he knew who Mu was talking about, Mu turned towards the exit "I'll take my squad on patrol" he said over his shoulder "I don't want to get caught with my pants down again, the last time that happened we lost to many good people."

_Vesalius_

Frederick Ades was a ZAFT soldier since the blockade in Cosmic Era 69 where the organization saw its first military action. Back then, he'd just been a lowly, routine crewman. But in the approximately eighteen months since then, he'd risen to a bridge crewman, and then finally, to a captain. He was a military man, but he was worried by what they were about to do, as two pods were deployed from the _Vesalius_ and the _Gamow _towards Heliopolis, carrying the Redcoats expected to capture the five enemy mobile suits and the soldiers being sent to cover them.

"Try not to look so frustrated Ades," said Rau le Crueset, pushing away from the front of the bridge towards the tactical board at the back.

"Well, I don't imagine it'd be too late if we waited to hear back from the Council at least," said Ades, again pressing his concern for this raid they'd planned.

"It will be too late," said Rau with certainty, picking up a picture and looking at it. "I have a sixth sense about these things." He idly sent the picture tumbling through the air towards Ades. "If we don't seize the moment now, later we'll pay with our lives for our reluctance to take action. The Earth Forces new mobile weapons; we must secure them before they attempt to move them."

The picture was of a giant humanoid machine, a mobile suit of vastly different design from ZAFT's own, and it was one of several more sent to the Supreme Council by a spy in Heliopolis. The Le Creuset Team, in the area at the time, had intercepted some of the data when it was sent just yesterday, and Rau had concluded that they should seize the opportunity now; the big risk was the possibility that the spy who discovered these machines had mistaken machines of Orb for those of the Earth Forces, but Rau's sixth sense was telling him that these were Earth Forces mobile weapons.

Personally, Ades believed it would be best to wait, so as not to endanger the colony. Besides, it didn't matter how advanced the mobile suits of the Earth Forces were, they could never face down the seventeen GINNs and six CGUEs that the two teams together could field.

But perhaps the Commander was right. Regardless, the decision belonged to the leader of the Le Creuset Team. Ades's opinion had been voiced, and Rau had made his decision.

"Besides," Rau said. "Rumor says that the Dragon of Endymion, Ryu Hisanaga may be in the colony. Though it's not 100% confirmed." Ades's eyes went wide. "I thought he died…" he muttered, remembering the damage he could deal in his Captured Mobile suit prototype, the X. "If he is…could be be involved?"

"No, but we must be careful." Rau said. "If he is here, then attacking his home may provoke him to pilot once again against us. We must be quick, and efficient."

_Elsewhere in Air-ducts_

"All charges set Athrun." A green haired, brown eyed teen around fifteen standing at 5'5" wearing a red ZAFT pilot uniform reported to another teen wearing the same uniform with Blue hair, green eyes and standing around 5'7".

"Right, thanks Nicol," Athrun said before turning to the rest of the pilots, 10 were wearing red pilot suits, while another dozen wore green pilot suits "you all know the plan Yzak," pointing to a silver headed, blue eyed, 5'5" tall teen "you get the 'Duel', Dearka," A 5'9" tall blonde haired black eyed teen with heavily tanned skin "you get the 'Buster', Nicol you get the 'Blitz', Johann," a 6' tall teen with a thin tan body, coarse black hair, and light brown eyes "you grab the 'Shadow', Nena," a slender teen girl with long red hair and Golden eyes and lightly tanned skin "you're to grab the 'Ghost', Rusty" A 5'6" tall teen with brown hair and eye's "you grab the 'Strike', Lev," a 6' tall giant teen with a thick body, coarse dark brown hair, and light brown eyes "you grab the 'Grizzly', Yuuka," a slender teen girl with an attractive figure, long red hair and sky blue eyes and lightly tanned skin "you're to grab the 'Lightning', Matthew" a 5'7 tall, Brown haired, brown eyed teen. "You go with Kane," he pointed to a man 6'1 with Black Raven hair, and blood red eyes. "And inspect the unknown part of the factory for any extra machines, while I grab the 'Aegis'."

With a quick round of "Yes sir" the pilots quickly made their way through the air ducts heading to their objectives.

_Vehicle Terminal_

"I'm telling you guys it's nothing like that!" said the 5'3" tall red headed blue eyed teen girl to her two friends as Kira and her friends approached.

Looking over one of the friends spotted them "Hey Mir!" she shouted "Have you heard, Flay received a _love_ letter from Sai."

"It isn't like that!" Flay protested in embarrassment as the others laughed at her plight "Why won't you believe me?"

As the four gossiped Ryu just shook his head from beside Jordan, Kira, and Tolle "I honestly have no idea how you can understand that gibberish Kira." He muttered as rubbed his temples with his thumb and middle finger of one hand "Is it some kind of language that all females are born with?" he asked as Jordan and Tolle nodded in agreement.

"Would it make you feel better if I said yes?" she asked with a small laugh.

"And now we know where Teenage girl stereotypes come from." Jordan said, causing Kira, Ryu, and Tolle to laugh before three people caught his eye "Hey look its Hikari, Liz and Chris. Guys! Over here!" she shouted waving at the trio catching their attention.

The sibling Dante's, and Hikari were already heading towards them and waved in acknowledgement "Hey Kira, Ryu, Tolle." Liz greeted happily, she was a 15 year old coordinator that was inch shorter the Mir and had green eyes and light brown, almost dirty blond colored, shoulder length hair. She was wearing faded blue jeans with a rip in the left knee, and a bizarre purple and black stripped hoodie. Chris meanwhile was a year older than his sister and a couple of inches taller than Kira. He had grayish-green eyes and dark brown hair that was styled into short, slicked back spikes. He was wearing blue jeans with a simple leather belt, a black t-shirt, and a gray unzipped hoodie. A pair of dog tags hung around his neck. Finally, Hikari Sierra was an 18 young young woman who was two inches shorter than Ryu, with Dark red, almost a Rust-colored hair that stretched just beyond her shoulder blades, and had Lightish brown eyes. She was wearing an Orange dress shirt with blue pants.

"How's it goin'? Professor Kato calling you guys back as well?" Chris asked pleasantly.

"Yeah apparently he's got more work for us back at the lab." Ryu said groaning "Why did I take that job offer, all I thought it would be is giving advice to you guys every now and then, I think karma has it out for me."

"It has it out for all of us." Jordan said. "But for me, it's all good karma."

"Is that what you said when we went to that Karaoke bar?" Chris said, smiling evilly. "I told you never to speak of that again!" Jordan shouted. "What Karaoke bar?" Ryu asked. "Well, it happened-" Chris started. "Tell them, and die Chris!" Jordan shouted.

Everyone laughed as Kira patted his back reassuringly. A cough interrupted the moment for the group, turning they saw a group of two males and one female standing behind them. The female was 5'9" with black hair and purple eyes and had a no-nonsense attitude about her, the first male was slightly shorter than the female with brown hair and black eyes, the second male had dark brown hair, black eyes and was a couple inches taller than the female. "If you're just going to stand around chatting may we please use the terminal?"

"Oh, we're sorry," said Tolle, stepping aside, Kira and Jordan doing the same. "Please."

The woman gave them a polite nod as she walked past with her companions. Flay watched her move past, but once she got into one of the elecars; she turned her scorn back on her friends.

"What's the big deal anyway?" she demanded. With a small 'humph' she turned away from them. "Let's go."

"Wait up!" "Hey wait!"

The four students watched the girls get into an elecar and drive off, talking about more stereotypical stuff.

"How 'bout that Sai?" commented Tolle as they drove off.

"Huh?" asked Chris.

"He wrote to her," continued the brunet. "What a shock and surprise." He put his hands on Chris's shoulders. "You have some competition, Christopher Dante!" He pushed off slightly. "Good luck." Mir giggled as she followed Tolle.

"But really, I'm not…" said Chris, starting after them.

"Oh, just admit it Chris," said Liz, "we _all _know!"

"Come on! We gotta go!" Jordan said as the next car came by, and they boarded it for the Lab.

_Professor Kato's Lab_

As Kira and the others entered the lab a 5'6" tall blonde haired blue eyed teen wearing orange tinted glasses looked up and smiled in greeting at them "Hey guys!" He said in greeting "Glad you're here Kira Professor Kato needed some help on a new Operating System (OS) for a project he's on."

"What! But I'm still working on the stuff he dumped on me the last time!" Kira exclaimed "Why doesn't he dump some of this stuff on Ryu?"

"Because I apparently have to finish a deep space mobile suit design by tomorrow." Ryu said with false excitement before noticing the person in the corner leaning up against the wall. The person was wearing a large trench coat making it impossible to determine the gender; the large bucket hat the guest was wearing didn't help that much either, the only thing Ryu saw was a small tuft of blonde hair peeking out under the hat and light brown almost gold eyes that widened slightly when the person saw Ryu.

"Who is that Sai?" Kira asked the teen that was going over the work with her.

"No clue," the blonde admitted "Some friend of the professor's apparently."

"Well, that's what she said," put in Amy Sierra, pulling herself out from under the table, catching Tolle off-guard, while Hikari noted Amy's words, and realized the boy was actually a girl, which surprised him, though it did seem to match the slim figure. "Of course, she could be lying."

Amy was Hikari's younger sister by a little over a year and a half. She'd turned fifteen just a few short weeks ago, had Rust red hair that stretched a few inches beyond her shoulder blades, and violet eyes similar to her sister, but her eyes were slightly red-tinted as well. She wore a light blue dress that dropped to her knees and an open, long-sleeved pink shrug that complemented the dress nicely. She completed the outfit by tying an orange scarf around her neck, knotting it in a large bowtie. The accessory complemented both her hair and eyes and made her very cute, causing Hikari to grin a little, while Jordan's Jaw nearly dropped, especially since the Scarf actually helped show off her large B-Cup breasts quite well. But thankfully Jordan recovered without anyone noticing…other than Ryu, Kira and Hikari who only grinned more.

"Anyways, the Professor wanted me to give this too you." Sai said as he handed Kira a Disk.

"Great…" murmured Kira, taking the disk from Sai and looking at it.

"So what's on it?" asked Sai. "I'm assuming it's somehow connected to the work for Morgenroete."

"Not exactly," said Kira. "It's to improve the frame setup module. It's actually just a program analysis."

Amy started giggling all of a sudden, and Hikari had a pleased smile on her face, giggling slightly as well, and drawing the attention of almost everybody in the room.

_Almost _everybody, as Tolle instead took this opportunity to sneak up behind Chris and grabbed a hold of him.

"More importantly, ask about the letter!" demanded Tolle, surprising Sai and drawing everyone's attention.

"What letter's that?" asked Sai.

"No, really… it's nothing," said Chris, struggling slightly with Tolle. "Just drop it."

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy!"

"What's going on? Come on, just tell me Tolle."

Amy giggled slightly.

"He really does need to tell her how he feels," she whispered to Hikari.

"I know," replied the Red head. "I'll call you if I ever find out he does work up the courage. Bring the popcorn."

Amy giggled again as Jordan moved to help Chris and Miriallia scolded her boyfriend.

"Of course, he's not the only one." Hikari whispered with a grin as she looked at Amy, and then at Jordan. Causing said red head to blush. "O-Onee-Chan!" she hissed. "It's not like that!"

"_Really?_" Hikari asked playfully causing Amy to blush even more. "Because that blush says otherwise."

With everyone's attention elsewhere, no one noticed when the blonde girl walked to Professor Kato's door and attempted to open it, expression turning to one of annoyance when she found it locked. She quickly moved away before anyone noticed her.

The _Vesalius_

Rau looked at his watch and smiled. It was time. By now, his infiltration team should already be done with the first phase of the plan. By his estimation, they should be heading towards what the data from the Intel report had indicated was the location of the Earth Forces new mobile suits.

"It's time," he told Ades, and sat back in his chair.

Ades nodded, before he began issuing orders. "Weigh anchor!" he snapped, arm outstretched. "Launch the _Vesalius_ and the _Gamow_! Have the mobile suits take off immediately!"

As the two ZAFT warships approached Heliopolis while deploying their linear catapults, alarms sounded throughout the colony's Dock Control Room, within the bridge of the recently docked Earth Alliance ship _Marseille III_, and in the hangar control room of the new Earth Alliance warship, the _Archangel_.

Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, the last survivor of the Earth Forces Moebius Zero corps, rushed onto the bridge of the _Marseille III_, still in his pilot suit.

"Enemies?" he questioned.

"Two vessels," said the captain. "_Nazca_ and _Laurasia_-class, confirmed mobile suit launch prior to jamming of communications."

"Heh," snorted Mu in annoyance. "Have Luke and Gail board their Moebius units. Don't deploy them yet."

While Heliopolis and the _Marseille III_ scrambled their meager defenses, the crew of the _Archangel _prepared it for takeoff if needed. As they did so, people throughout the colony continued as they were, ignorant of what was about to happen. Four minutes after the ZAFT ships began moving towards the colony, Mistrals had been deployed to intercept them, the Earth Forces transport ship in dock readied to launch, and the timers on the bombs setup throughout the _Archangel_ hangar reached zero.

_Inside Heliopolis_

"That's it," said Yzak smugly as he looked through his binoculars. "There they are… just like Commander Le Creuset told us." "What? That if we prod them enough, they'll crawl out of the holes they were hiding in?" asked Dearka, chuckling. "Of course," replied Yzak in a cocky tone. "After all, the Naturals are stupid and pathetic." Rusty sighed. "You really shouldn't underestimate your enemies, Yzak," he said. "That can, and most likely will, get you killed. Remember, Naturals _did_ create Coordinators.""Humph. Natural lover…" Yzak shot back, "I don't 'love' naturals." Rusty replied. "Nor do I hate them. They are all just people."

"As much as I agree with Yzak in this," Kane said. "We have a mission here. I can see five of the machines already, the others are probably still inside the facility me and Matthew are too investigate."

"Rusty and I will go and secure the ones in the warehouse the rest of you grab yours if it's there, if not then grab the closest one." Athrun said when suddenly the entire colony shook and several mobile suits came in firing at the convoy "There's the signal. Go, go, go!"

Activating their thrusters the team made their way down to the convoy fire off shots from their assault rifles. Landing beside one of the trucks Yuuka quickly dispatched the guards around the truck and checked inside the convoy transport "Lightning has been secured." She said into her radio as she climbed into the mobile suit.

"Grizzly secured." Came Lev's confirmation as he got into his own suit.

"Duel secured"-Yzak

"Buster secured"-Dearka

"Shadow Secured"- Johann

"Ghost Secured"-Nena

"Blitz secured, let's get these back now." Nicole Suggested as he activated the Phase shift armor turning the suit black before taking off. The rest quickly followed suit a followed Nicol out as the GiNNs continued to wreak havoc.

_Professor's lab_

"What the hell was that?" Chris shouted as the station shook "Is everyone alright?"

A quick course of affirmatives and Ryu cursing about his luck followed the question. "Did a meteor ht us?" Liz asked in confusion as everyone stood back up.

"No, it wasn't" Ryu said opening a safe under his desk and pulling out a scoped MP5, every one's eyes widened at the sight of the gun "That was someone attacking the colony. Everyone is to make their way to a safety shelter stick together and do _not _separate from each other." He ordered as he pulled out several clips and a flak jacket.

Leading the way Ryu led them down several corridors when they reached the stairwell door to see numerous other people walking up them.

"What's going on?" Sai asked as the building shuddered again, the lights flickered, and some debris and dirt fell from the ceiling. "What's this all about?"

"We're under attack by ZAFT," explained a middle-aged man, looking panic-stricken. "Some of their mobile suits have entered the colony!"

"What?" gasped Kira. Ryu's eyes narrowed '_Should have guessed._' He thought. The blonde girl standing next to Kira gasped as well, and then turned her head down the corridor. She began running that way. Chris and Kira both noticed her, Chris instantly started off after her. Kira hesitated half a second longer, then also gave chase as everyone else started for the stairs.

"Chris!" cried Liz. She started after her brother, with Amy following. Hikari tried to stop them, but they flew out of her reach and she was forced to chase after them, followed by Jordan.

"Shit!" Ryu cursed as he ran after them "Get to the shelters!" he ordered over his shoulder.

Kira and the others managed to catch up to the guest. "What are you doing?" demanded Kira, grabbing the blonde's arm to stop her. "It's a dead end that way!"

"Hey, you should get out of here!" said the blonde angrily.

However, as though in defiance of those words, they heard a loud crash, and dust blasted down the corridor their way, blowing the hat off the blonde's head. Kira was surprised by how much that little thing changed her appearance, as it was now obvious that she was a girl.

"You're…a girl?" Chris asked dumbly, as Jordan face-palmed.

"What the hell did you think I was?" The girl shouted as Kira, Amy, Hikari and Liz glared at Chris who was looking very uncomfortable at the moment.

"Now is _really_ not the time for that." Ryu growled as he walked forward "Thanks to Blondie there our original route is cut off," looking behind them the group saw that the passageway was indeed collapsed "This way, we'll go though the factory and go to the shelter there. This time _stay_ close." He said directing the last part to the blonde who gulped. "I'd suggest listening to him, he is not nice when irritated" Jordan said as he grabbed her arm. "Come on."

"Let go of me you jerk!" said the blonde.

"Jerk?" questioned Jordan, glancing back. The blonde looked away.

"I just never thought we'd get… involved," she said, a hint of despair in her tone.

"It'll be okay," said Chris, running along next to her. "There are still shelters in the factory district."

"Assuming ZAFT didn't end up destroying them," said Ryu.

"But why would they do that?" questioned Jordan. Kira frowned.

"The only thing of value at Heliopolis… is the contents of the factory district," she said, eyes wide with realization. They were right in the middle of ZAFT's likely target. But that didn't stop them.

Within two minutes, they'd come to a balcony overlooking a massive hangar… and, to the shock of Kira, Jordan, Amy, Hikari, Chris, and Liz, there were several large humanoid machines lying in cradles.

Mobile suits. But not mobile suits of ZAFT design—no, these ones looked like some kind of enormous, science fiction-styled samurai.

"Those are…" gasped Kira.

"I knew it," said the blonde, collapsing to her knees. "The Earth Forces prototype mobile weapons." There were tears in her eyes. "Father, I knew you betrayed us all!"

Her cry drew the attention of a factory worker, who instinctively turned and fired at them. Jordan and Chris both grabbed the blonde and dragged her away, evading the shots with Ryu taking point with the MP5 in hand, with the others following.

"Crying won't help you!" said Kira. "Come on!"

Morgenroete Factory District

Athrun fired off another burst of rounds at an armed Morgenroete employee. The man fell, blood immediately beginning to pool around him. Meanwhile, Rusty dived out from his cover to move forward, taking advantage of the distraction, and gunned down another employee. With his new vantage point, he had a wider view of the warehouse, and glanced around.

The brunette bit back a vicious curse.

"Athrun, we've got a problem!" he called out, peeking from cover and firing at another Morgenroete employee. He missed, however, and was forced to duck back behind cover. Unfortunately, one of the Green coats didn't get so lucky, and was gunned down, which really did manage to draw a curse from Rusty's lips.

"What is it?" questioned Athrun, moving forward himself.

"Turns out our Intel was off," he said. "We didn't bring enough to capture all the machines here!"

"What?" Athrun's expression was one of surprise as he looked around from his new vantage point. "SHIT!"

They'd known about the possibility of an Intelligence slip up—after all, this was a top secret project and they'd intercepted the data and had not been the original party for which it was intended—but they hadn't expected something _this_ extreme! There should've been two machines in here, maybe one to three more than that, but as it turned out, there were _Seven_, meaning the Earth Forces had produced twice as many mobile suits as they had thought!

_This is not looking good_, he thought. _We weren't prepared for our Intel to be that far off!_

Gritting his teeth, he barked out orders. "We have to destroy the machines we can't steal!" he shouted. "Everyone just take whatever you can reach! If you don't think you can get one out of here, at least try and get into it and activate the self-destruct sequence!"

Reaching the shelter Ryu hit the comm system "Open up we have several civilians that need an evac now!" he shouted over an explosion.

"_There is no more room here; we can take one more however._" The reply came back slightly fuzzy. Looking back Ryu was torn between who to throw into the elevator; he really wanted to secure Kira's safety the most. Almost reading his thoughts Kira grabbed the guest and shoved her into the elevator as the guest protested.

"We can go to the other side." Kira stated over the girls arguments "We know this place better than you do so we will be fine." Hitting the door control they watched the girl pound on the door in protest "C'mon let's double back." Kira said as Ryu took point.

As they crossed the walkway Kira happened to look down just as a ZAFT soldier started sneaking up on one of the mechanics "Watch out!" She shouted to the mechanic who reacted on instinct and turned and shot the soldier sneaking up at her.

"Chris! Liz! Kira! Jordan! Ryu! What are you doing here?" shouted Chris and Liz's Aunt Johanna who was taking cover behind one of the mobile suits "Get down here now!"

Aiming his MP5 Ryu started raining bullets at any of the ZAFT soldiers not behind cover as Chris joined his aunt while Liz joined their uncle Nick who had been shot in the stomach. Amy and Hikari both entered a single suit.

Ryu quickly leapt down to the final mobile suit just as one of the ZAFT reds got there acting on reflex Ryu leapt out of the way as the red shot off some bullets until his clip ran empty. Bringing up his own gun Ryu tried to shoot but a definitive 'click' informed him that he was out of bullets, using his now empty gun he blocked a knife swipe from the red and quickly placed a heel right in the pilot's solar plexus before leaping into the suits cockpit and starting the boot sequence.

_With Kira_

Meanwhile, Murrue's only remaining ally attempted to gun down the only enemy still in sight, but the Redcoat ducked behind cover before suddenly rushing out, returning the favor far more effectively.

"Hamana!" cried Murrue, turning and gripping her gun with both hands, taking aim, but the ZAFT Red saw her and reacted first, firing off the last few bullets in his machinegun, one hitting Murrue in the arm. The brunette fell down, while Kira, shocked, rushed forward to help her. The Redcoat, frustrated by the lack of ammo, dropped his gun and instead drew the shorter of the two combat knives on the belt of his pilot suit, leaping onto the trailer bed, then onto the mobile suit's leg, and rushing forward to finish the job.

Kira looked up at the soon-to-be-assailant, and her body turned numb.

"Athrun?" she gasped. Athrun ground to a halt, just as surprised.

"K-Kira?" murmured Athrun. There was another explosion, as though a reaction to their shock, and both of them straightened up, staring at each other in surprise. Murrue, recovering slightly, lifted her gun in one hand and fired at Athrun, who dodged back. Kira was too shocked by what she'd seen to react. Murrue, realizing they were out of time, stood up and knocked the girl into the cockpit of the Strike before dropping herself inside as more explosions continued to tear the factory apart.

When Murrue activated the monitors after ordering Kira to move behind the seat, Kira glanced at one, and saw the soldier who looked just like Athrun get into the cockpit of another machine.

_Athrun? No, that can't be_, she thought to herself. _Athrun couldn't possibly be involved in all of this… could he?_

As Murrue activated the machine, its operating system activated.

**MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM  
>Version NV8 – N099/  
>G<strong>eneral  
><strong>U<strong>nilateral  
><strong>N<strong>euro – Link  
><strong>D<strong>ispersive  
><strong>A<strong>utonomic  
><strong>M<strong>aneuver  
><strong>G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System<br>O.M.N.I. Enforcer**

"Gun…dam?" she said to no one in particular. _Where have I heard that before?_

A massive explosion tore through the warehouse, and the eyes of five of the seven mobile suits flashed to life as the GAT-X105 Strike, GAT-X303 Aegis, GAT-X100 Dynasty, GAT-X317 Thunder, GAT-X311 Raptor, and GAT-X305 Raven broke through their cradles and stood up, looking for the entire world like mythological titans as the explosion engulfed them.

_With Jordan_

Jordan noticed that though everyone had gotten into a machine, they seemed to have forgotten about him. _Bastards. _He thought. He was about to turn to get out of the Hanger when something moved in the corner of his vision. Jordan glanced around to see two civilians run through a doorway.

"_Mom? Dad?_" He whispered, but his eyes widened as two Zaft reds followed them. _Oh no. _Jordan thought as his eyes widened. He then made a mad dash past the door.

When he entered the doorway, He found himself inside another hanger, this one with three mobile suits similer to the ones in the hanger he had just left. As Jordan ran forward, he saw a sight that tore his heart open.

On the ground, his own Father lied down, his chest rattled with bullets. His eyes wide open in lifeless shock. Jordan fought myself not to cry, but was failing miserably. Jordan took a moment to close his eyes, and he grabbed the pistol he held in his hand.

Jordan then ran forward where he saw his mother fight off the two Zaft soldiers. While one was actively shooting her, for some reason the second soldier didn't seem to be shooting to kill.

But at the moment, he didn't care. All Jordan saw were two people trying to kill the last piece of his family, and he was not gonna let that happen. Jordan jumped down to where they were and he took cover behind a set of crates. As he turned around the cover, his father's pistol in hand, he turned just in time to see one of the Zaft soldiers fire their rifles at his Mother.

The rounds from the rifle hit her in the chest, and time seemed to slow as she fell to the ground. Jordan felt as if his heart had suddenly stopped working, and his chest turned to ice. _…no…_he thought in horror. _No…n…not my parents…_

The Zaft red walked up to her body, and Jordan herd him laugh evilly. "Pathetic Natural." He said.

What was first sadness in his heart, quickly transformed into pure rage, and anger.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Jordan shouted at the top of his lungs as he fired the pistol at the Zaft soldier.

The Zaft red saw his attack, and ducked and rolled backwards to dodge the bullets. He then jumped up, his rifle aimed right at Jordan.

Jordan's eyes widened, he had him. There was no way he could dodge into cover in time. All he could do was stand there as he descended upon him.

There was a series of bullets, but not from his rifle. The _second _Zaft soldier suddenly started firing at his own Comrade. The first ZAFT soldier managed to dodge again. "Matthew, what the hell are you doing?" He shouted.

"I am not going to stand around and watch you kill civilians Kane!" the second soldier said. But oddly, his voice…it was strangely familiar to Jordan.

Kane growled. "Traitor." He muttered. "The Commander will hear of this!" with that, Kane hopped away into one of the three machines. The cockpit closed, and the machine lifted off out of the hanger.

The soldier that saved him then turned to face Jordan. "Jordan, are you alright?" he asked.

Jordan raised his gun at him. "Who are you?" he demanded. "How do you know my name?"

The man managed to chuckle slightly as he removed his helmet. "Now, is that the way you should be treating your _Onii-san_ (Older Brother) Jordan?" he said.

When his face was revealed, Jordan's eyes widened in amazement. "M-Matthew?" Jordan stuttered. "Y-your-"

"Alive?" he finished. "Repots of my death were gravely exaggerated. I would have tried to contact you earlier, but communications between orb and ZAFT went down after Junius 7."

He dropped the pistol. "B-but mom…and dad…" he said, looking at their mom's lifeless body.

Matthew sighed in regret. "I didn't know at first," he admitted. "But when Kane killed our Father, I was in shock. So I…I tried to just wound mom so we could just take her prisoner." His face then became twisted in rage. "But Kane…" he said. Hate in his voice. "I should have known that bastard would have shot to kill."

His face then returned to sadness. "I'm so Sorry, Jordan." He said. "I…I should have stopped him faster. If I tried I could have-"

"Stop matt." Jordan said, cutting him off. "First off, what's done is done. That guy, Kane, Killed our Parents. Not you. You Matthew did not kill them. So it was not your fault."

**(AN: The moment I started writing this part, 'You, I, Unfulfilled feelings' started playing on my ITunes…weird…)**

Jordan then walked up closer to him. "But, on the brighter side of things," He said. "At least…I still have some family left."

Jordan then pulled him into a brotherly hug. Matthew was shocked at first, but soon after, he returned the hug. "I never thought I'd see you again, Onii-san." Jordan said, now on the verge of crying.

Matthew smiled. "I never thought I'd see you again either…_Ototo (Little Brother)_." He said.

They then separated. "Come on." He said, gesturing to our mother's body. "We have to at least straighten her out."

Jordan nodded. A few minutes later, they dragged out their mother's body next to their Fathers, both with their eyes closed now, and lying down side by side.

They gave them a small moment of silence, so many memories of them with himself, and his Brother filled Jordan's mind. He could only guess Matthew was having a similar reaction.

It was then; Jordan noticed something in his Mothers Pocket. "What's this?" He asked as he reached in for it.

When he pulled his hand out, Jordan almost choked.

It was a small model of a mobile suit. It had a slim body, its legs, arms, and face were painted white, its chest and torso was a dark blue with a red trim. But the most fascinating feature, were its four white Angelic wings on its back.

"Jordan…Is that…" Matthew said.

"The Gundam." Jordan finished.

**2 years ago**

"_Mom, I finished it!" Jordan shouted, as he showed his custom-made mobile suit. "Oh, Jordan it looks wonderful!" My mother said. "What is it called?" "Hmm," He thought. "…How about…Gundam." "Gundam?" She said, trying the name out. "An interesting name." "Sounds perfect." My brother said, packing his bags to leave for the PLANT's. "It sounds great. Mobile Suit Gundam." _

**Present**

Jordan looked back up at the two remaining mobile suits. "They…look just like it." he said, eyes in tears. "Though there are differences…there's no doubt…"

"Come on, Jordan." Matthew said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "We gotta go."

Jordan nodded. "I'll take the left, you get the right." He said. As he jogged to the one on the left. Jordan glanced at his parents one last time. "Goodbye Mom…Dad." He said as he glanced at the Gundam Model. "I promise you…He will pay. Kane will pay dearly for what he did today." He then ran towards the Gundam on the right.

**(A/N: Begin playing** **'Unicorn', Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=v25MaXwopNI)**

Jordan hopped into the cockpit of the mobile suit. He quickly found, and pressed the activation switch.

**MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM  
>Version NV8 – N099/  
>G<strong>eneral**  
>U<strong>nilateral**  
>N<strong>euro – Link  
><strong>D<strong>ispersive  
><strong>A<strong>utonomic**  
>M<strong>aneuver

**G.U.N.D.A.M**

**GAT-X001 Hero**  
><strong>O.M.N.I. Enforcer<strong>

Jordan couldn't help but smile. _Mobile Suit Gundam. _He thought one last time. "_Jordan, you ready?_" Matthew said on the Radio.

Jordan nodded. "Ya, I'm ready." he said. "Say, what's your suit called?"

"_Uh…GAT-X002 Warrior._" Matthew said. "_Yours?_"

"GAT-X001 Hero." He replied. "Notice the operating system opening?"

"_Ya, I did._" Matthew said, with a smile on his own face. "_We'll get him, Jordan. I promise you this right now; we will kill Kane for what he did._"

"I know we will, Big Brother." Jordan said. "Now then, without further adue, Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Let's Rock and Roll!"

The Hero's armor changed from dull grey, into white, Blue and red as it launched from the hanger bay.

Matthew smiled as his Brother took off. _Brothers to the end. _He thought. "Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Lets cut 'em up!"

His own Gundam's Armor transformed into Black and Gold, and blasted out of the Hanger, following his Brother.

Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU


	3. Chapter 2: GUNDAM

Heliopolis, Morgenroete Factory District

As the flames consumed the warehouse, seven mobile suits shot out from the ruined building. Their movements were erratic, at best. Four of them were slow and shaky, like trainees piloting a mobile suit for the first time were operating the machines. The other three landed fairly smoothly, though they effectively stood their ground after doing so.

The Aegis pulled away from the other machines as a pair of GINNs landed nearby the prototypes.

Chris watched his aunt struggle to operate the mobile suit. Though he knew they were still in danger, he couldn't help but feel concerned about the others.

"Damn. They still haven't perfected the OS yet. How did they ever expect this thing to be combat ready with this OS?" said Johanna in frustration.

Chris couldn't help but agree with her. The operating system was clearly of an inferior design. This was very bad for them, especially if those GINNs decided to attack.

_With Ryu_

Ryu was silent as he rapidly typed away at the keyboard in the cockpit of his commandeered mobile suit. He'd seen the mess the OS was in, and had immediately begun rewriting it. One of the machines was occupied by a ZAFT soldier… and his typing had become even more frantic as he saw a group of GINNs land nearby.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came over the radio. "_Pilot of the Raven, identify yourself._"

"_This is Johanna Dante of Morgenroete,_" Johanna replied. "_Lieutenant Ramius, is that you?_"

"_Yes,_" answered Ramius. "_It's good to see that you managed to survive and get that machine out of there._"

"_Is Kira with you?_" she asked.

"_The girl? Yes, he's here._"

Ryu sighed in relief, knowing that Kira was safe.

"_Pilot of the Dynasty, identity yourself,_" came Ramius's voice again.

"Dynasty here_,_" Ryu said. "Give me a second; I'm trying to work out the kinks in the OS."

"_Who are you?_" The Mechanic asked insistently "_I don't recognize you as any of the G-weapon pilots._"

"_Relax Ramius,_" Chris and Liz's aunt's voice came through the radio "_He can be trusted," _

"_Alright, pilot of the Thunder, Identify yourself._" Murrue said.

"_This is…uh…Hikari Sierra, and Amy Sierra._" Hikari's voice came though. "_We got stuck in the same suit together._"

"You two alright?" Ryu asked.

"_We're fine Ryu._" Amy said. "_Just…just a bit shaken up is all._"

"_Pilot of the Raptor, Identify yourself._" Murrue said one more time.

"_Um… this is Liz Dante,_" came the voice of Chris's sister. Shocked, Ryu stopped typing for a moment. "_I'm Johanna Dante's niece._"

_With Chris_

"What?" exclaimed Johanna. "Liz, what are you doing in there? Where's Nick?"

What sounded like a choked sob was the first reply, and Chris felt his heart freeze.

"_He's… dead,_" came the choked reply. Shocked, Johanna's control on the mobile suit slackened, and the GINN attacking them landed a hit near the foot of the machine, sending it tumbling off-balance.

"_Damn it,_" said Ramius. Ryu also made a quick swear.

"No," whispered Johanna. She blinked back tears, and shook her head, getting herself back under control. "Listen to me Lieutenant Ramius, the OS still isn't ready for a Natural like you or myself to pilot. Allow Kira to pilot the machine."

"_What?_" both she and Ramius said in disbelief.

"Kira's a Coordinator, just like my nephew. They should be able to better handle these machines than we can at the moment."

"_What?_" Kira said again.

"_I cannot allow a civilian to pilot a top secret machine,_" said Ramius.

"_Would you rather be dead?_" Ryu barked. His own mobile suit then turned Red with black trim, woodland green on thighs, and Biceps, and a white face with a Golden double V head crest. "_Chris, take control of the Raven, and get the O.S working. Liz, Cover you brother. Amy, or Hikari, same as you. Get the Thunder working and give some support to Kira. I'll try to distract them._"

_With Ryu_

'_Armaments: CIWS '_ Igelstellung_', no good in this situation, to many enemies; IWS: Hydra Missile Shield, no good either possible collateral Type 71 beam rifle also can badly damage exterior wall,_' Ryu thought to himself as he scrolled through the weapons of his mobile suit '_I guess that leaves the '_Exia Kai III_' Sword/Rifle._' Taking a deep breath he unfolded the blade and held it at the ready, exhaling he started attacking the mobile suits in front of him.

Dodging the shots from the GINN in front of him Ryu lashed out with the blade destroying the offending gun before boosting back to dodge several more shots from his opponent's partner. Gritting his teeth Ryu fired his Igelstellungs forcing the suit to back off; his danger sense flashing Ryu quickly brought up his shield and blocked the sword thrust of another mobile suit. Narrowing his eyes he saw that four of the ten attacking mobile suits were surrounding him as the other six moved to attack his friend "Watch out the enemy is heading to your position!" He called out over the radio alerting the others.

_With Hikari and Amy_

"Let me in!" Amy demanded. "What? Are you crazy?" Hikari demanded. "Nee-San, we don't have time to argue!" Amy nearly shouted, shocking her elder sister. "We are both dead if we don't do anything, and I know more about this kinda stuff than you do, so _Move!_"

Hikari blinked in surprise. She tried to find an argument, but she knew that her sister was right on this one. He got behind the seat as Amy took the seat. She immediately started typing away on the keyboard trying to fix the O.S.

It was then Ryu's warning came through, and six GINN's were speeding towards them. '_Dammit, I'm not finished!_' she thought as she only had time to finish the legs. Two of the GINN's sped towards her, one headed towards Kira while the other two ganged up on Chris.

The two GINN's charged, firing their rifles at her. Amy hopped away, trying to get some distance away from them as she was still trying to reprogram the O.S. After a few minutes, she managed to at least get her right arm with her Beam SMG working. "Alright, this should do for now." She said as she drew her Beam SMG. One of the perusing GINN's charged forward with its sword drawn, while the other stayed behind with its machine gun. Amy pointed her SMG at the rifle-wielding one, and fired. A rapid stream of beams streaked towards the GINN.

Though the GINN managed to avoid a direct hit, its shoulder and half of its head was blown away. The Pilot smarted out, and ran.

That left the last GINN. Amy finished the Thunder's left arm's recalibrations, and her suit could now actually fight effectively. _'Ok, I've already tried the SMG.' _Amy thought. '_Hu…Beam Sabers, or that Heat shield? Ah, let's try the Sabers._' She then drew out the Thunder's two beam sabers, holding one in each hand."Alright, let's dance!" Amy said as she flew forward '_I've always wanted to say that._' She thought afterwards.

The GINN fired his Machine gun wildly, hitting the nearby buildings and structures. "Hey! Shoot me! Not the colony!" Amy shouted as she drew closer, dodging all of the GINN's shots with the Thunder's superior mobility.

Suddenly the Thunder was right in front of the GINN, and in two downward slashes, she sliced off the GINN's arms. The GINN pilot chickened out, and ran.

Amy sighed in relief as she relaxed in the cockpit. "That was too much like work." She muttered. She then faced her sister with a grin. "See? I can handle myself." Hikari game a weak smile. "Ya…I guess." She admitted.

_With Kira_

"Move aside already!" said Kira angrily. Ramius's stubborn refusal to let her take over had nearly gotten her friends killed.

Relenting, Ramius did so, and Kira took the pilot seat. She pulled out the keyboard and began typing away at lightning speed, one eye on the GINN as it stood up and readied for another attack. She wasn't too worried about Adam, Sue, Darknal and Amy—if the machine they were in has the same sort of armor as the one he was in, they'd be fine.

As the GINN approached, Kira finished her first set of calibrations, and fired the head vulcans at the GINN, causing it to stumble as it stabbed forward. Kira deftly evaded, and punched the GINN in the face.

"Take the calibrations and reset the zero moment point and CPG," muttered Kira to herself, still with an eye on the GINN, but otherwise ignoring the machine entirely. _Connect control module to quasi-cortex molecular ion pump. Rebuild neural linkage network, update metamotor cortex parameters. Restart feet forward control, transfer functions, correct for corrial asteviation, online._

The GINN stood up and fired at Kira with his rifle, shaking the mobile suit. Gripping the controls, Kira rocketed the prototype into the air, evading further fire.

"Weapons…" muttered Kira, typing at the keyboard. The offensive system screen came up, listing two head-mounted 75mm Vulcan guns, and two hip-concealed assault knives as the only weapons it currently had.

"Armor Schneider?" questioned Kira incredulously. "That's all there is?"

Left with no other choice, Kira sprung the assault knives, grabbed hold of them, and closed on the GINN, which began to fire wildly.

"No, don't do it here!" cried Kira. "Stop it!" Kira ducked under fire from the GINN's machine gun, and stabbed forward with both knives into the GINN's neck, watching with some satisfaction as the GINN went limp.

"Get away from the suit!" Ramius shouted in panic, right before the suit self-destructed causing Kira to recoil violently and the mechanic to smash her head on the bulkhead rendering her unconscious.

"_Kira are you alright?_" Chris' worried voice came over the radio.

"I'm alright, but Miss Ramius smashed her head on the bulkhead and is unconscious." She reported as the stood the suit back up, checking the surrounding area she sighed in relief as she saw he friends cautiously come out of their hidey-hole.

_With Chris and Liz_

"Oh fuck!" Chris swore as he brought up his duel hyper velocity shield cannon to block the shots from one of the two GINN's as he activated his PS turning the suit Midnight blue with red trimming before returning fire with his Igelstellungs forcing the suit to dodge to the left, unfortunately he forgot about the second suit and was tackled to the ground by said mobile suit who now stood over him with its heavy sword at the ready to stab him.

"_NO Chris, Aunt Johanna!_" Liz shouted firing her beam rifle at the suit missing by good bit.

It served the purpose however as the suit was distracted long enough for Chris to bring his cannons to bear and fired off a shot at point blank to the cockpit destroying the suit. Gritting his teeth as the Raven slid along the ground, blown back by the explosion "Aunt Johanna are you alright?" Chris asked in concern as he stood the suit back up beside his sister's mobile suit as she activated her PS turning her suit light blue with red trim and bronze joints.

"I'm fine just a little dazed." She replied "just focus on the enemy."

"R-right." He stuttered as he turned back to the final GINN who was bringing his rifle to bear. Activating the thrusters Chris dodged to the right while approaching the suit and drawing one of the beam sabers at the suits waist. "Eat this!" he shouted slashing at the suit that jumped back.

Chasing the GINN he slashed once more as it dropped its gun and brought it sword to bear, unfortunately the sword did very little and ended up cut in half as Chris' saber continued its original path and cut the cockpit. Remembering what happened the last time he hit the cockpit he jumped back just before it exploded clearing him from the blast radius.

_With Ryu_

Ryu ducked the Dynasty under one GINN's sword, and retaliated by ramming it with his shoulder, and firing two beams into it at point blank, destroying it as he backed away in time to not be caught in the blast.

Switching the rifle into sword mode, he then sliced the arms off of another GINN, and delivered a roundhouse kick knocking it into a few buildings. The third GINN tried to sneak up behind him, but Ryu withdrew his Exia Kai, and drew his two hip-holstered beam sabers, and sliced the GINN into pieces.

Holstering his beam sabers, he drew out his Exia Kai again as the damaged GINN retreated while the last one stood its ground. It was then four more GINN's arrived backing it up while the Aegis and Gale retreated.

'_Dammit, I won't last much longer._' He thought to himself.

However, suddenly another explosion from Morgenroete blasted through. Out of the fires of the facility, another mobile suit, this one almost completely black, with a Red trim, soared out of the ruined building.

"_This is Kane Hellfury to any Zaft personnel within Heliopolis. Do you read me?_" A cold voice on the radio said.

"_Sir! Intel was wrong._" One of the GINN pilots said. "_There were more machines than what Intel reported. The enemy has maintained control of five suits of their own!_"

"_Make that Seven._" Kane said.

"_Seven?_"

Just then, two more mobile suits jumped from the ruins of Morgenroete. One was Blue, White, and Red, and the other was Black with a gold trim.

Then the red one drew out its Exia Sword/Rifle into sword mode, and snapped into a combat position against the machine Kane piloted. The Black-gold suit made a similer pose, drawing out two "Kotetsumaru" Katana's, twirling them around its fingers, and snapped into a combat pose.

_With Jordan_

Matthew and Jordan were in hot pursuit of Kane as they busted out of the Factory. They then noticed the team of five other Gundams similar to their own, and the five GINN's with Kane.

"_Jordan, you help the Gundam's down there, and take out the GINN's._" Matthew said. "_Leave Kane too me._"

"You sure Nii-san?" Jordan asked, and his Brother nodded. "_Kane's an experienced pilot._" He said. "_You wouldn't stand much of a chance against him alone. Help them out, leave Kane to me._"

"Right…just don't get yourself killed Matt." Jordan smiled a bit. "I just got you back; I don't want to lose you again." His Brother smiled. "_Will do Jordan._" He said as he sped towards the Monster.

'_Ok, what weapons does this bad-boy got?_' Jordan thought as he landed next to the Samurai-looking Green/Black mobile suit. '_Exia Kai, Beam Sabers, Beam Daggers, Katana Short sword, Katana long sword…Hm, let's mix it up a bit._' He then drew a Beam Saber with his right hand and a beam dagger in his left hand.

The Hero charged forward towards the GINN's. He tossed the dagger into the head of one GINN witch backed off. He then ducked under another GINN's sword and did a kick-swipe that knocked the GINN down to its back. Jordan then stabbed the GINN in the Torso, being careful to avoid the Cockpit.

Retrieving his Saber, he then shouldered into the GINN that was previously impaled by his Dagger, forcing it back as he retrieved his Dagger from the Mobile suit.

Putting away his beam weapons, he then drew his Exia Kai in sword mode, and his short sword in his left hand. "Bring it on!" Jordan shouted as he charged forward.

_With Matthew_

_Play: 'Monster' by skillet. Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=YXcfH1iUzB0_

Matthew's sword's clashed with Kane's own Heat Sabers, both pushing against each other. "_I expected better from you, Matt._" Kane mocked on the Radio. "_I never would have thought you'd betray your own species, especially after Junius 7._"

Matthew growled as he pushed the Monster back."Don't you _dare _bring that up you bastard!" He shouted as he delivered a severe kick to the Monster's torso. "You're just as bad as Blue Cosmos! You killed those Civilians without a second thought! Dammit, they were my Parents Kane! And as for that comment on betraying my species, I never did that. I may not be fighting for Zaft now, but Coordinator or natural, we are all Humans."

Kane just laughed as he fired his palm-mounted beam cannons. "_Oh, please spare me the lecture._" He said as Matthew evaded the shots. "_Coordinators are the only True humans! Naturals are just vermin that deserve to be stomped on like rats! And seeing how they were your Parents, I must assume the current pilot of that other machine must be your brother you're _always _talking about?_" Matthew could hear him laugh. "_I'll enjoy killing him while you watch, just like I killed you mommy and daddy!_"

"YOU BASTARD!" Matthew shouted as he drew his 'Senkoumaru' Naginata, and fired his head-mounted 60mm Vulcan cannons as he charged at the Demon-like suit.

Kane replied to it by dodging the volley of rounds, and drawing his own beam sabers in a reverse grip and caught the Spear-like weapon from hitting him.

"You took away my Mother, and my Father, you will NOT TAKE MY BROTHER!" he shouted as he punched the Warrior's thrust to the max and he pushed the Monster into a set of buildings. Matthew placed his foot on the Monster, and raised his Naginata ready to pierce the Monster's cockpit, but the Monster fired a set of beams from the Palm-mounted cannons forcing him to retreat.

"_I'll get you, Matthew Takeo…_" Kane muttered on the Radio as he took flight and ran. "_I'll kill you, and that pathetic brother of yours!_"

Matthew snorted as he holstered his Naginata. "Not in a million years, Kane." He muttered as he turned towards his Brother and the other Gundams.

(End song)

_Meanwhile With Jordan_

Jordan, with one final swing, sliced the last GINN in half. Two of the others had started to retreat, but Jordan didn't bother giving chase. He didn't want to kill any more of them.

It was around this time Matthew finished up his battle with the Monster, and he landed beside the Hero. The two suits faced the other five Gundams.

"_To the Pilots of the two Unidentified mobile suits,_" came an oddly familiar voice to Jordan. "_Thanks for your help._"

Jordan blinked. He _knew _that voice. "Ryu?" he asked on the Comm. "It that you?"

Three seconds passed. And Ryu's voice, along with Kira's, Chris's, Liz's, Amy's, and Hikari's voice all called out at once: "_JORDAN!_"

"Yes, yes it's me." He said. "But…what are you guys doing in those things?"

"_We could ask you the same thing!_" Kira said. "_But who's in that Black one?_"

"_It would be best if we discussed this elsewhere._" Ryu said. "_Jordan, you and that other guy meet us over by that park._" Ryu's suit pointed at a Park. "Right, see you there." Jordan said and they walked towards the said Park.

_At the said park_

As Chris and his friends exited their machines, the two machines then walked towards them.

The cockpits of the black and red suit opened. From the red one, Jordan emerged. "Jordan! There you are!" Kira shouted. "Where did you get those machines?"

"They were in a hanger inside the factory." Jordan replied. Then the second pilot stepped out, revealing a man wearing a red Zaft pilot suit.

This got everyone on edge. "Jordan, who is that?" Ryu asked wearily, edging towards the Dynasty.

"Relax guys, he's with me." Jordan said as he and the Zaft Pilot lowered themselves down.

"Well, who is he?" Chris asked.

Jordan smiled. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he said, putting his hand on the Zaft red's shoulder. "Please say hello to my Big Brother, Matthew Takeo."

"You're…Brother?" Amy asked, amazed.

"But, didn't you tell us he died at the bloody Valentine?" Ryu asked, just as amazed as the others.

"I did." Jordan said.

"Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated." Matthew finished, removing his helmet. Everyone who was Jordan's friend gasped at how similar they looked. They were almost identical, only that Matthew had slightly longer, shaggier hair, an inch taller than Jordan, and a scar just below his Jaw.

"Holy shit you look just like Jordan…" Chris muttered.

"Runs in the family I guess." Jordan said. "Matt, allow me to introduce you to Chris Dante, Liz Dante, Kira Yamato, and Ryu Hisanaga. I think you already know Hikari and Amy."

Matthew eyed Ryu for just a moment, but then faced Amy and Hikari, smiling. "Good to see two." He said. "How've you been?"

"Great Matt." Amy said. "It's great to see you again."

"Same here." Hikari said. "Things were _way _too dull without you."

Then Ryu stepped in. "As much as I really am enjoying this little Family Reunion," He said. "I don't think this is over yet and I want to make sure that our suits are properly prepared. Kira, you take a look at the OS for the Dynasty. Chris, take a look at the Raven and finish tweaking if it needs it." Turning to Liz, and Amy, he raised an eyebrow "Are you going to pilot the Raptor and Thunder for now?" Ryu asked the two as the others did as asked.

"I guess." Amy said, a little hesitantly. "I'm not really looking forward into fighting again…but we need to be ready, right?"

Liz bit her lip in thought before nodding in affirmation "You guys will need the help right?" she asked rhetorically "You want me to make sure the Raptor is up to snuff right?"

Ryu nodded before turning to Johanna "Where are the Strike's weapons?" He asked.

Johanna sighed rubbing her head "They are normally stored in a warehouse near the factory," she answered "but we transferred them to the prototype carrier we were building alongside the G-weapons, the _Archangel. _But with this attack I believe they probably targeted it with the initial explosion."

"Take Sai and see if there are any of the weapon packs left," he ordered pointing to Sai "Mir, Tolle, Hikari, can you please see if there is any food and water nearby please, mobile suit piloting can be very draining."

The five nodded and went off to do as requested with Sai and Johanna hotwiring a nearby car. Ryu then faced Jordan and Matthew. "I think it's obvious you'll be piloting your machines." He said.

The brothers glanced at each other, and simultaneously they said: "Do ya think?"

Ryu Chuckled. "Alright, I get it, your brothers." He said.

The two smiled, and they headed towards their machines.

'_I hope that this is the worst the day has to offer,_' Ryu thought to himself as he made his way over to the sleeping mechanic '_Than again…I am the bitch of Murphy's Law._'

**117Jorn: Got that right.**

**DragonKnightRyu: Shut up Jorn**

"Ryu was it?" a voice said suddenly. Ryu twirled around to see Matthew standing there. "Ryu Hisanaga? You wouldn't happen to be the same Ryu Hisanaga, the Dragon of Endymion, would you?"

Ryu tensed up a little. "Maybe…" he said."Why?"

"Just curious is all." Matthew said with a shrug. "The Commander said there was Rumors about you living here at Heliopolis, but it wasn't confirmed. Now seeing you in person…I actually expected you to be taller. Maybe…I dunno, some 8 ft draconic beast?"

Ryu gave out a small chuckle. "I guess I can't really hide it from you." He said. "Ya, I am the same Ryu. But…try not to tell the others, please?" Matthew nodded. "I understand that, sir." He said. "I would probably be asking the same thing if you were asking me if I were the 'Grim Reaper of Junius 7'" Ryu blinked at that. "Really?" he asked.

"Ya, we're one in the same." Matt said. "Remember? I piloted that Black/Gold CGUE with that steel Scythe?"

"Ah, right." Ryu said, recalling it. "I cut your Scythe in half, Right? Sorry about that." Matt just waved it off. "Ah, it's alright." He said. "I managed to fix it. Besides," he looked up at the Warrior. "I think I found a brand new replacement."

Ramius groaned as she woke up a half-hour later and opened her eyes to see the artificial light of the colony "So sleeping beauty awakes." A voice to her right stated and a hand appeared holding a bottle of water "Drink, it'll help with the headache."

Following the arm Ramius saw a young man with green eyes and short military-style brown hair "W-who are you?" she asked weakly.

"Ryu Hisanaga, I was piloting the Dynasty," he said shortly "Drink, you need the water."

Accepting the bottle Ramius opened it and drank deeply draining a quarter of the bottle in one go. More alert she sat up and looked around the improvised camp and saw that two additional civilians were speaking with the siblings from the warehouse as the girl who took control of the Strike; Kira if she remembered right, sat in the Raptor typing away on the keyboard while eating a granola bar.

Meanwhile the two other siblings, the two girls, were resting on the Thunder's foot. The Younger one resting her head on the elder's shoulder. While another Civilian was inside one of the two X000 units. Though she could see someone in the second unit, she couldn't tell who.

"Johanna and another civilian went to see if there are any weapon packs left in storage for the Strike." Ryu said from next to her "We've been trying to see if we can contact the Archangel to see if anyone survived the blast."

Ramius whirled to him reaching for her sidearm that was o longer there her eyes wide in shock and fear she looked at Ryu who was holding her sidearm "How do you know about the Archangel?" she growled.

"I know because Johanna told me about it," he said in a bored voice as the others looked on "Besides it doesn't matter right now as we need to be prepared in case ZAFT returns to try and finish the job."

Ramius relaxed slightly at his explanation and relaxed even more when he handed her gun back to her. As she reholstered the gun Johanna and Sai returned in a transport with a crate and parked behind the kneeling Strike. "Thankfully there was one left." Johanna explained as the crate opened up "So we should be able to boost our radio range with it."

Ryu nodded and signaled Kira to get the Pack mounted on the Strike, but frowned as he felt a tingle in the back of his head. He wasn't the only one who felt this, as Jordan got the same feeling as well. '_Hu?_' he thought. '_What the hell was-?_'

Everyone mount up!" he ordered as he made his way to the Dynasty leaving a confused Johanna and Ramius behind "I have a feeling that ZAFT is on their way!"

"Ryu!" Kira shouted from the now armed Strike "Communications just cut out!"

Ryu swore violently "Mount up NOW." He literally _roared_ the order as they got in their mobile suits '_Power is halfway, I cannot prolong the battle._'

A sudden explosion jerked every ones heads to the sky as they saw a whit CGUE and a Moebius Zero entered the colony with the Zero's gunbarrels missing. '_I only know of one Zero pilot left, and I only know of one ZAFT pilot that pilots a white mobile suit._' Ryu thought to himself as he watched the Zero lose its linear gun "Let's move people!" he shouted over the radio as he launched the Dynasty into the air "Kira when you get a shot, take it!"

"_Understood._" She confirmed in a shaky voice as the non-combatants took cover behind the transport truck.

"Guy's be careful," Ryu warned as they approached the white CGUE "If my guess is correct than we're fighting an ace, so be on guard and cover me."

"_You're right on that._" Matthew said. "_It's my Former Commander Rau le Crueset._" Ryu groaned. _Just as I thought. _

_With Rau_

'So _that's why Miguel and the others failed,_' Rau mused '_there were far more prototypes than anticipated._' Boosting forward he collided swords with the Green-Black mobile suit as the others tried to flank him from both sides, chuckling he tried to drag the Green-Black mobile suit into the line of fire only for the suit to ram the broad side of the shield into Rau's CGUE surprising him. However his reactions were quick enough to dodge the shots that the other two took at him. As he continued to trade blows with the Green-Black mobile suit he couldn't help but feel he had fought a person who piloted like the one in front of him now, it suddenly clicked into place and Rau's eyes widened from behind the mask. '_I have to confirm this._' He thought to himself as he opened and area-wide radio-link.

"I don't know why your here piloting an _EA_ machine, but it certainly has been a while, hasn't it, Dragon of Endymion _Ryu Hisanaga!_" Rau shouted over the link causing all movement to freeze on the battlefield.

Suddenly a chuckling broke out over the link "_I haven't heard than name for almost three years,_" Ryu said over the channel in a reminiscent voice before turning to ice "_I hope you're ready Rau le Crueset the White Duelist, because you have dragged me out of retirement by threatening my home and friends, and I will not stand for it!"_

Rau grinned as he blocked another strike from Ryu's blade.

_Meanwhile_

_With Kira_

Kira was in shock at the revelation of who exactly Ryu was, she had guessed that he was a soldier, ZAFT due to the fact he was a coordinator, but the legendary coordinator ace of the EA, the _only_ coordinator pilot of the EA who went missing after Junius Seven. _That_ was defiantly shocking news to all of them. _'It still doesn't change anything Ryu never hid anything from us,_' she thought to herself as she continued to watch the ongoing battle between the two aces '_It is understandable that he would hide this from us because he would want to fade into atomicity._' A sudden beeping caught her attention and saw a text message from Ryu telling her to get ready for an opening and for Chris and Liz to get ready to prevent Rau's escape.

_With Ryu_

Ryu was breathing heavily as the adrenaline coursed through his system dodging Rau's shots and returning his own as the deadly dance continued '_Defiantly out of shape,_' he thought to himself in frustration '_I should have done more than basic workouts._'

Gritting his teeth he fought off the effects of a high G-force turn to dodge another shot from Rau '_10% power left, I hope they are ready._' Narrowing his eyes Ryu took the risk and launched off a volley of missile from his shield along with a salvo of shots from his beam rifle draining the last of his energy he made sure he touched down safely hoping his plan worked.

_With Chris_

Seeing the missile volley Chris launched the Raven into action pushing the suit to the maximum thrust he started shooting at Rau with Liz keeping him on the defensive and hopefully clearing a shot for Kira as the two of them ganged up on Rau they could clearly see why Ryu had trouble with this guy '_Does this guy have eyes on the back of his fucking head!_' Chris thought in wonder as he fired off a shot from his rail cannons from behind that Rau dodged "Liz! Come from below!" Chris shouted over the radio as he charged in firing his railguns and drew his beam saber only for Rau to introduce the Raven's head with the CGUE's foot.

Watching Chris saw Liz fly in desperately firing hoping to hit their elusive foe on to be disappointed as he weaved through the shots like a dancer and responded by grabbing the Raptor and throwing it into the Raven causing the pair to crash into the ground.

_Rau_

The masked commander smirked as he defeated the two mobile suits. '_Not as tough as they-_'

Suddenly Rau's danger senses went off, and he backed away just in time missing a swipe from the Hero's Sword/Rifle. The Hero's head turned around, and if looks could kill, the Hero's face looked down-right murderous.

_Begin Playing: 'Hero' By Skillet. Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=cV7vHjtzubw_

_With Jordan_

"I don't care if you're the #1 ace in Zaft." Jordan stated firmly. "You will _not _hurt my friends." With that said, Jordan sliced with his Sword again, with Rau catching the swipe with his own blade. The CGUE then delivered a kick to the Hero's midsection, sending it back a little, but Jordan recovered quickly as he put away the Sword/Rifle, and drew out two beam sabers, and charged forward.

Rau swore, and backed away as the Hero accelerated forward. He fired his Rifle at the Suit, but the rounds pinged off harmlessly off the suit's armor. The Hero then flew in low trying to get behind Rau, but he saw this and flipped around and backed away again.

"_You're rather good with that suit of yours._" Jordan could hear the voice on the Radio. "_But let's see how long you can last until you too run out of energy._"

'_Oh fuck!_' Jordan thought, thinking about that for the first time. '_What are my energy levels…wait, hu?_' when Jordan glanced at the Energy bar…it was still at 100%! He tapped it a few times, but it stayed that way. '_Ok, weird…_' he thought. '_As curious as I am…I'd rather worry about this White guy here._' With that he then drew out his two Katana swords and prepared to engage the White Duelist yet again.

Aboard the _Archangel_

Ensign Natarle Badgiruel and the handful of crewmembers that currently made up the bridge crew of the _Archangel_ rushed to get the ship online. They had been attacked by ZAFT. The captain, the command crew, the G-Pilots, and majority of the crew that had been outside the _Archangel_ when the bombs went off, were dead. And they had no idea what was going on outside of the hanger.

"All systems are green. We're ready to go," reported Chandra.

Unfortunately, there was no way for them to open the hanger doors, if they were even still operational. So they were gonna have to a make a door.

"Take us out, maximum speed," ordered Natarle. "When the ship reaches maximum speed, fire assault cannons!"

A minute later, as the _Archangel _neared the hanger doors, the two powerful Lohengrin assault cannons fired, destroying the doors in a massive explosion.

Heliopolis Interior

Everyone heard and felt the explosion. Everyone stopped and looked up. There was a massive fireball tearing through a part of Heliopolis. They all watched as a massive white and red warship flew through the fireball.

The _Archangel _has entered the fray.


	4. Chapter 3: Collapse

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

"The _Archangel_…" breathed Murrue as the warship flew into the colony's interior. For a moment, everything seemed to stand still… and then, suddenly, everything got going again, The CGUE turned and it looked like it was about to perform another strafing run on the ship, when it flew downwards. Heading towards where the Strike was and…

_Amy!_

Jordan pushed the Hero as fast as it could go. He had to intercept the CGUE before it attacked. But it was too late, the CGUE opened fire on the Strike and the people near it.

"NO!" shouted Jordan.

However, the Warrior was suddenly in front of the path of the CGUE's bullets, protecting Amy, Johanna and the others.

Jordan let out a sigh of relief. "Matt, I owe you BIG TIME for that."

"_All in a Day's work Brotha!_" Matthew said.

The CGUE flew upwards, dodging the shots. As it did, the _Archangel_ fired four missiles at the CGUE. The CGUE destroyed two of the missiles but the other two missed and hit Heliopolis's central shaft. Kira's eyes widened. Heliopolis couldn't take that kind of abuse for long!

Gripping the long rifle of the Launcher Striker pack, Kira brought up the targeting computer, forgetting to check the power levels of the weapon. She locked in on the CGUE, and pulled the trigger.

She barely missed the main body but took the arm and gun out, along with creating a hole in the colony wall "OH FUCK!" Kira swore violently as everyone else stared in awe at the power of the cannon.

"_I WANT THAT!_" Jordan yelled on the Radio.

"Well, _that_ changes things." Rau muttered as he saw the Archangel's guns turn in his direction "You win this round Dragon, but our little war has just begun." He called out as he maxed out his engines heading for the newly created exit.

_With Rau_

"How is that possible?" Rau Le Creuset questioned himself as he pulled his CGUE back towards the hole blown in the colony. "A mobile suit with that much firepower…?" Even as he contemplated this, Le Creuset couldn't help but smile slightly in sadistic glee of the implications of that sort of power.

_With Ryu_

Ryu snorted "Perhaps duelist," he muttered quietly "But the next time I will be ready and waiting." Turning his mobile suit he opened a video link with Kira and smiled sheepishly "Sorry to be a bother but could you help me get the Dynasty on to the Archangel?" he asked as Kira giggled and moved the Strike to grip the armpits of the Dynasty and boosted both of them up to the landing platform of the ship as Chris and Liz gathered the others up and brought them up and set them down gently. Soon following was Jordan, Matthew and Amy in their suits.

Groaning Ryu stretched his back as he stepped out of the cockpit of the Dynasty and sighed as he heard his back crack loosening it before activating the decent line and descended to the deck every inch of him looking like a veteran fighter. He could hear Jordan mutter something about 'Show-off'.

He was soon joined by the others and quietly eyed the group that came out to meet them, he quickly recognized three of them from the transport terminal and smiled at the sight of a stocky black haired mechanic who was with them.

Natarle and several of the crew members ran toward her.

"Lieutenant Ramius, I'm glad to see that you survived Ma'am. We were worried when Morgenroete went up."

"Likewise Ensign. Thank you for protecting the _Archangel_. These students gave me so help. These G-weapons are quite impressive" said Murrue.

The Moebius Zero from earlier landed near the G-weapons and out from the cockpit came Mu la Flagga who looked around intently before locking eyes with Ryu and grinned but first approached the bridge crew.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mu broke in. "I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, Seventh Orbital Fleet. My previous ship was destroyed, so I'd like permission to come aboard. Who's in charge here?'

"The senior officers are dead," said Natarle quietly, "I believe that Lieutenant Ramius is in command now."

"The Captain's…oh, this cannot be happening," said Murrue.

"What a disaster. In that case, please let me come aboard Lieutenant. I've got no where else to go," said Mu.

"Of course, permission granted Lieutenant La Flaga" said Murrue, quickly recovering with a salute, "Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, Sector 2, Fifth Special Division, assigned to the _Archangel_."

Natarle was steps behind her as she saluted, "Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, same assignment. Just curious, but who's flying the Hero and Warrior?"

"That would be us." Matthew said as he and Jordan joined them.

"And you are?" said Natarle inquisitively. Matthew pulled his helmet off and locked his eyes with hers. And then threw off a perfect salute.

"Matthew Takeo, ID#0117300, last posting, Le Cruset Team" said Matthew, "You might know me better as the Grim Reaper of Junius 7."

Jordan blinked and stared at his brother. "Why didn't you tell me you were and Ace now?" he demanded. Matthew shrugged, and smirked. "You never asked." He said.

Jordan just rolled his eyes. "I'm Jordan Takeo, his younger brother." He said. "I piloted the Hero, Matt used the Warrior."

"Mind telling why a Zaft is working for the Earth Forces?" Natarle asked.

Matthew grinned as he placed a hand on Jordan's shoulder. "A little saying I came up with says: 'Those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their Family, Friends and allies are worse than Trash'." He quoted. "I'd rather defect and be with my Brother than work with Zaft and possibly have him killed."

"That's something we have in common." Ryu said stepping up towards the two.

Mu gave Ryu a broad grin that Ryu returned as they clasped hands "It's good to see you alive and well Hawk." Ryu said jovially as Mu laughed.

"Same to you Dragon." He retorted before peering at the three other teen pilots.

Seeing his gaze Ryu introduced him to his friends "Guys this is Mu la Flaga, the Hawk of Endymion, we flew together on the same squad before I retired from combat." Ryu explained with a grin as he named off each of his friends names as he pointed at them each in turn.

"So it's true then?" Kira asked quietly.

Ryu smiled sadly and nodded before turning to Ramius and the rest of the crew who were all staring in shock "Can you spare some dormitories for us?" he asked politely "These guys are almost asleep on their feet and I would like to give my story somewhere quiet. If you have doubts to my identity than just ask Johanna, Mu or Murdoch over there, they each know me well enough to answer some of your questions."

Murrue blinked then looked closer at the pilots, Kira was swaying slightly, Chris was yawning as Liz was drooping her eyes and leaning against her brother for support, Amy was practically sleep-walking next to Hikari, even Jordan was showing signs of falling asleep "Oh, right, Neumann, them to one of the spare dorms for now." She said pointing to the taller of the two males that the group had met earlier.

Once they had settled in Ryu sat down on the edge of Kira's bunk as he looked around at everyone "As you heard, both from Hawk, and Rau le Cruset, I am the Dragon of Endymion, the former EA ace pilot that vanished after Junius Seven." Ryu explained heavily sighing

"They never told me about their plan to nuke the colonies and during the attack when I saw the Peacemaker forces I snapped and started massacring them, the one time that myself, Rau le Crueset, and Andrew Waltfield, the desert tiger teamed up, I was told it was quite the sight. Unfortunately however we couldn't stop them all." He glanced at Chris and Liz, they had lost their parents and all of their friends at Junius Seven "Still haunts me to this day, I wasn't fast enough, strong enough, I wasn't aware enough. Still wake up screaming sometimes..." he trailed off with a vacant look full of regret and sadness.

"We don't blame you Ryu," Liz said reassuringly and Chris nodded in agreement "Knowing that you tried is enough."

"Their right." Matthew said. "I was there and I saw you fight. You did your best to save them, and that's all we ever could have asked for."

"So Your Jordan's Brother, eh?" Chris said, eyeing the former Zaft pilot."I swear you look just like him."

Jordan and Matthew just shrugged. "It's it the family." They said at the same time.

"You said you were at Junius 7, right?" Amy asked, interested.

Matthew's head went downcast. "Yes." He said. "I was piloting a GINN under the command of Rau Le Cruset. During the battle, I managed to stop two of the nukes…but not all of them."

"You said it yourself Brother." Jordan said. "You, Ryu, and every other zaft pilot tried their best to save Junius seven. No one could have asked for more."

Matthew smiled and nodded. "Boy, your Parents are gonna freak when they see your brother's alive!" Chris said.

Matthew stiffened, and Jordan's eyes became downcast. "What's wrong?" Hikari asked.

"…Their dead." Jordan answered. Shocking everyone. "The pilot of the GAT-X003 Monster killed them." Matthew continued. "His name was Kane Hellfury."

"Hellfury as in _Zar _Hellfury?" Ryu asked amazed. Matthew nodded. "The Son of the Devil of Endymion, though they are nothing alike in almost every way. Kane hates Naturals, and has no problem killing civilians if their in his way. While Zar would never stoop to that level."

Matthew then sighed. "That Bastard." He said. "he didn't even hesitate to kill them…and he almost killed Jordan if I didn't stop him."

"You always did save my ass back home." Jordan said, forcing a smile.

"Why did you join the EA in the first place." Kira asked curiously trying to change the subject, tilting her head to the left as she looked at him.

"I wanted to change people's perceptions on coordinators by showing them that we are not all the same," he explained "I wanted to deconstruct the illusions that the EA had built up on coordinators, as you can see I wasn't as successful as I wished to be." Shaking his head "Enough of that for now though, we need to get some sleep."

"I agree." Matthew said as he climbed up into the bunk on top of Jordan's. "If Rau really wants the other Gundam's as much as he said he did, he'll be back."

"Gundams?" Ryu asked, quizzically.

"An Acronym from the start-up sequence." Jordan answered. "General, Unilateral, Neuro-link, Dispersive, Automatic, Maneuver. G.U.N.D.A.M." Jordan then pulled out something from his pocket. It was a miniaturized mobile suit model with angelic wings.

"Hey…that looks a lot like the Hero!" Liz stated.

"I know." Jordan said. "I made this when I was a kid, I called it the Gundam."

"You mean…" Amy trailed, and Jordan nodded. "All of the G-Weapons external designs were based off of this Model." He then smiled. "My Parents made them for me…" he just shook his head. "Anyways, let's get to sleep."

_Meanwhile_

_Vesalius, bridge_

"It's confirmed, Ryu Hisanaga is piloting one of the G-weapons." Rau declared as he entered the bridge "However it seems that it was not originally his plan to, he was protecting his home."

"How do you know that sir?" Nicol asked in confusion "I mean it is true that he vanished after Junius Seven, but he could have been overseeing this project."

"Because I heard it straight from the Dragon's mouth, so to speak." Rau explained

"WHAT!" Yzak exploded "You would believe something that, _traitor_ said!"

"The Dragon is very well known for his honesty," Jacquie Maddox, a Red Coat Zaft pilot, around 20 that stood around 5'8", with black hair in a military style crew cut, and had eyes that were light brown in color, said quietly "If he tells you something, it is what he knows to be the truth."

"Which is exactly why he attacked the peacekeeper force at Junius Seven," Said Naleen Lynn, a female around 22 with straight sun-blonde hair that went just past her neck, standing at 5'7", and had deep blue eyes. "He didn't know or he would have warned us about it, he is no traitor, if anything he might have done the most for coordinators."

"How?" Yuuka asked in confusion "He joined the EA right, so, how does that help the coordinators?"

"He was trying to change the soldiers perceptions on coordinators by showing them we are not all the same," Lev said suddenly surprising the other red coats "Showing them that we all do not wish for war."

"The fact remains that we need to beat him and destroy this new battle ship that the EA has created." Rau commented. "However, there is one other Problem." Kane then entered the bridge. "Matthew has betrayed us."

There was a whole minute of silence. "Matthew what?" Athrun asked in disbelief.

"Its true." Kane sneered. "He shot at me to protect a Morgenrotte employee. He was assisting an enemy, as such he is now a Traitor to Zaft."

"But…he wouldn't do that unless he had a reason!" Nena said.

"The fact remains that we need to beat them and destroy this new battle ship that the EA has created." Rau commented "Have our remaining GINN's load up with D-class equipment."

Everyone inhaled sharply "D-class, sir?" Yuuka asked nervously "But isn't that meant for storming fortresses? Couldn't that destroy the colony?"

"Who cares!" Yzak snarled "They chose their side."

"The colony didn't," Lev snapped back in a rare display of anger "Morgenroete did."

"Enough," Rau commanded "I don't like this any more than you do, but that ship must be destroyed. All Remaining GINN's will be launched to destroy the ship. Naleen, Jacques, the two of you are in command of the mobile suits, go in with your regular equipment, the two of you will have to deal with the Dragon as my CGUE is damaged."

Nodding the two GINN pilots left the room "Sir," Athrun said calling Rau's attention "May I sortie in the Aegis as well? There is something I need to confirm about the pilot of the Strike."

Rau frowned as he looked at Athrun hi mask hiding the curious look in his eyes "Very well," Rau relented "But Kane will also be joining us. Just remember to follow orders, understood?"

"Yes sir." Athrun confirmed saluting before taking off to the hanger with a determined look on his face. '_Is it really you, Kira?_'

OoOoOo

_Archangel, Captains Quarters._

"So what do you know about Ryu Commander?" Murrue asked as she, Mu and Natarle sat in her new quarters. "I mean, the average soldier only knows rumors and what Command told us."

Mu sighed as he lent back on his seat "Well I can tell you that he's one of the best mobile suit pilots that I have ever seen, he has only been beaten once and that was when he was facing _both_ Rau le Crueset and Andrew Waltfield at the same time, still gave them a good beating too," Mu explained "Off the battlefield he is a normal teenager, well, mostly normal. Anyways he is highly protective of his friends and would walk through the gates of hell and walk back out with the devil's head to ensure their safety, which is probably why he was piloting the Dynasty."

"So, what do we do now captain?" Natarle asked Turning to Ramius who sighed.

"I want your honest opinion Commander, how likely are we to get Ryu and the other kids to keep piloting the G-weapons?" she asked seriously

"Ryu might be easy, he probably is already planning on piloting the Dynasty already, so long as we make _absolutely_ _sure_ that we are _not_ holding his friends against him, than he would probably rip us to shreds to protect his friends." Mu warned "As for his friends, I honestly don't know, that girl Kira might if Ryu does, they seem very close, as for the three sets of siblings my guess is where one goes the other follows, just a guess though."

"I'll go talk to them, mind helping me Commander?" Murrue asked standing up "Ryu would probably respond better to you than me."

Mu chuckled as he stood up "Might be a good idea." He agreed good naturally.

_Later_

Ryu was leaning up against the wall his arms folded and glaring at Murrue and Mu who were standing across from him "Yes I do understand the situation Captain, and yes I will pilot the Dynasty to defend _Heliopolis_ not this ship," Ryu stated sounding agitated as he spoke. "However I _will not_ force the others to pilot the remaining G-weapons, that's their choice alone, if anything I would prefer that they didn't even have to get in the mobile suits in the _first place._" Ryu then sighed heavily.

"I had hoped that this would never had happened, if I did know than I would have gotten them out of here before ZAFT struck," Ryu admitted "I'll talk to the others, but I will _not_ push them in any direction, and if they chose not to pilot a G-weapon you better leave it at that."

"We will Ryu, don't worry." Mu reassured waving his hands in a placating manner.

"It's not you I'm worried about Mu." Ryu said sadly as he walked for the door. When he opened it, Jordan and Matthew stumbled out.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ryu asked simply, as Jordan just smiled sheepishly. "Not really…" he said.

"He wasn't the only one." Matt said as he stood with his Brother. "We're both fighting."

Ryu smiled sadly. "You two sure?" he asked. They both nodded.

"Heliopolis is our home." Jordan said resolutely. "I have the power to at least _try _to save it. So I'm gonna take that chance. Besides…" his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "If I get a chance…I will kill Kane Hellfury."

"Don't let Revenge get control of yourself, kid." Mu said. "It never ends well."

"I'm not." Jordan said. "This isn't just about Revenge. I'm gonna make sure Kane never kills people like my Parents ever again."

"I'm with My Brother on this one." Matthew said. "The very fact my Brother is here is enough reason to fight. _Kane _is just a bonus." He practically spit out the Name of the Monster Pilot.

Ryu chuckled a bit. "I think you and me are gonna get along _just fine._" He said to Matt. "Now let's wake up the others." They turned to the other who were still sleeping. An evil grin suddenly spread across his face as his eyes twinkled in mischief "I think I know how to wake them up." He stated. Matthew also grinned. "Do it." He said simply.

He nodded, and Ryu suddenly stood ramrod straight "WAKE UP MAGGOTS," he shouted in a drill sergeant-like voice, almost sounding like the Soldier form TF2, causing the teens to start scrambling and fall out of their bunks in surprise and panic.

When they finally came to their senses Ryu was holding his sides in laughter as Matthew was trying but failing at holding in the laughter. Jordan was rolling on the floor laughing. "Not funny Ryu." Chris growled glaring at Ryu as Jordan stood up and dusted himself off.

"For me it is." Ryu admitted as he calmed down before settling into a more serious demeanor that caused everyone to unconsciously stiffen "The Captain has brought to my attention that the original pilots for the G-weapons were killed in the initial attack on Heliopolis." He stated "She has requested that Kira, myself, Liz, Chris, Matthew, Jordan, and Amy to remain as the pilots of the G-weapons that we piloted initially, Jordan, Matthew and myself have already accepted, Chris, Liz, Amy it is completely up to you if you wish to continue piloting the Raven, Raptor, and Thunder, we will not think less of you if you chose to sit out."

"No need to worry, I'll keep fighting, our home needs to be defended, right?" Chris said with a grin.

"I'm fighting too." Liz stated as she stepped forward.

"No you are not." Chris said suddenly turning to his sister "I do not want you fighting, it's too dangerous."

"So you don't think that I can handle it?" Liz accused poking her finger into Chris' chest "And just who was it that saved your ass, huh?"

Chris didn't falter "Yes you did save me, but I still don't want you in such a dangerous situation where you could get killed!"

"Newsflash Chris, we are in that situation right now!" Liz shot back "And I for one would rather go down fighting!"

"Chris, look at it this way." Matthew said, drawing everyone's attention. "Right now, we are in a life-or-death situation. Regardless if she fights or not, she, and everyone else here is in danger." He turned to his brother. "In all honesty, I don't want Jordan to fight anymore than you want Liz too." He admitted. "But he's old enough to make his own choices. Just like Liz is old enough to make hers. It's understandable that you don't want her to fight, because you want to keep her safe. But remember she wasn't to do the same with you because your brother and sister. The same applies to me and Jordan. So in the end, it's her choice if she wants to fight."

Chris glared at Matthew for a minute as Matthew met his glare with a calm look before Chris sighed relenting "Fine, just, just make certain that you stick close, alright?" he pleaded.

"Alright Chris," Liz said solemnly before grinning "I'll be nearby to save your ass again."

Everyone chuckled at Chris' flustered expression. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I'm doing this too." Amy said, Hikari was about to object, but Amy gave her a glare. "Don't you say anything sis, _especially _after that speech Matthew gave." She said firmly. "I've actually piloted the Thunder, you haven't."

"You…don't have to fight, Amy if you don't want too." Jordan said. "I mean, we have Liz, Chris, Ryu, Matt and me out there, which should be more than enough already." Matthew raised an eyebrow at this, and grinned ever so slightly. '_So he still has that Crush on her?_' he thought.

"I don't like fighting…but you guys need all the help you can get out there." Amy said resolutely. Hikari sighed. "Fine, like I could stop you." She said with a weak grin.

"Amy's right." Kira said as she stood up. "None of us really want to fight, but we have to if we want to save our home." Ryu smiled weakly, suddenly the ship alarm started going off '_Level One battle Stations, all Pilots to your machines._' Natarle's voice barked through the intercom.

Ryu swore colorfully before he started barking out his own orders "Liz, Chris, Kira, Matthew, Amy, Jordan, I'll show you the way to the Hanger, Everyone else, _stay here_." He said. "Alright!" Jordan said while clapping hands once. "Time to kick the tires, and light some fire!" he said as he ran towards the hanger with the others following.

"Your brother says a lot of Movie/Game quotes, ya know?" Ryu said as they caught up to him. Matthew mearly shrugged. "I know." He said.

Storming into the Hanger they jumped into their machines and started powering up "Hey what about a pilot suit!" Murdoch shouted out to Ryu.

"No time!" he shouted back as he sealed the cockpit and started up his mobile suit and opened a video link with Kira "Hey Kira, use the Sword Striker pack, it's close range so it should prevent any damage to the colony superstructure."

"_Right._" Kira said. "_And Ryu…please be safe._" She said the last part with a light blush, but Ryu didn't catch it. "I will Kira." He reassured. "You just watch over yourself, alright?"

"_R-right._" She said.

Settling into his seat he opened a link to the bridge "Control this is Hisanaga, do you read?"

"_Control here, I read ya._" Mu's voice filtered through

Grinning Ryu shook his head "I need the sniper rifle."

"_Ask and yea shall receive_" Mu joked as Ryu's suit got loaded up "_Fly safe and Hunt well Dragon._"

"Same to you Hawk. Ryu Hisanaga, Dynasty, Engaging the enemy!"

"Chris Dante, Raven, Taking off!"

"Kira Yamato, Sword Strike, Let's do it!"

"Liz Dante, Raptor, Let's go!"

"Amy Sierra, Thunder, Moving out!"

"Matthew Takeo, Warrior, Let's cut e'm up!"

"Jordan Takeo, Hero, Let's Rock and Roll!"

_With Naleen_

Naleen sighed as she rolled her neck prepping for combat when her alarms went off alerting them of the approaching mobile suits "We have 7 confirmed bogies boys," she alerted the others as her Golden colored GINN was customized with a high powered Radar that worked well with her sniping skills "Remember Leave the Dynasty to myself and Jacques."

"_Understood. Leave the Traitor and that White mobile suit to me._" Kane sneered.

After a quick chorus of affirmatives they group split up and attacked their respective targets with another pair attacking the legged ship. Frowning Naleen searched the battlefield for her target only to be forced to dodge a series of green beam's from her right. Turning she saw the green-black figure of the Dynasty quite a ways away with its rifle at the ready firing off high-powered blast. Bringing her own sniper to bear she took aim and started firing at her opponent only for the shots to bounce harmlessly off of the suit. '_Come on, where are you Jacques._' She thought in frustration as the pair continued to exchange sniper fire with Ryu being forced to dodge as she was now aiming for his camera on the Dynasty's forehead.

And as if summoned Jacques appeared behind Ryu in his black custom GINN with sound and heat dampeners and a Radar proof alloy coating his katana slashing at Ryu from behind. And as if he had eyes on the back of his head Ryu ducked under the slash and delivered a viscous kick to the black GINN's torso knocking it away before putting his rifle away and bringing his Exia Kai to bear and activating his beam saber. Naleen swore that if that suit had a face it would be grinning like a madman.

_With Amy_

Using the Thunder's Superior speed over a GINN, Amy easily dodged the Machine Gun rounds they fired. The Thunder switched to MS mode, and fired a trio of shots from her Beam SMG at the GINN on the left, though it missed a direct hit, it's left shoulder was burned off.

She then closed the distance so she could use her Beam Sabers, but the GINN pilots were smart and tried to keep their distance. Key-word being 'Tried' as the Thunder was far faster than the GINN's.

As the GINN fired a blast at her, Amy instinctively dodged… and watched in horror as the energy blast disintegrated one of the shaft cables holding the entire colony together. Quickly checking the Thunder's databanks, she identified the weapon as the Barrus, a heavy ion cannon, and perhaps the strongest weapon in the GINNs arsenal.

"Damn it, why the hell would you knowingly use weapons like that inside a colony?" she shouted as she gripped one of the Beam Sabers with both hands and charged, swinging with as much force as she could. The GINN dodged, but it was close, and fired the Barrus again. Amy dodged a second time, and the ion cannon blast destroyed a building on the ground. Amy's eyes narrowed, and she deflected the next shot using the Thunder's shield, using the explosion to mask her next attack.

_With Chris_

Chris swore violently as he barrel rolled under another blast from the GINN carrying the beam cannon before firing some shots Duel Machine guns and cannons forcing the GINN to evade the attacks before Chris had to evade yet again when the second GINN opened up with its cannon "Dammit they are shooting far to recklessly," he swore as he saw the shot impact with the ground "If they keep this up, they'll destroy the colony."

Gritting his teeth Chris transformed into his mobile suit mode and returned fire with his cannons before drawing one of his beam sabers and going in close for an attack only for the opposing GINN to suddenly drop under the attack leaving Chris wide open "Well shit," he muttered as he brought up his shield and blocked the shot causing his suit to buck backwards from the blast.

Turning into his Mobile armor mode he charged straight at the GINN that fired the shot surprising the pilot as he broke through the dust that had been kicked up from the blast. Firing his short range energy cannons he tore through the opposing suit destroying it, before transforming back into suit mode and squaring off against his final opponent.

_With Liz_

Rolling her fighter like mobile suit Liz dodge the series of large missiles that were fired at her before switching to mobile suit mode and firing her beam rifle destroying the missiles before they could impact with the colony "You reckless idiots!" She snarled as she dodged a shot from the second GINNs beam cannon and shot back at the GINN only for it to dodge.

Pushing her suit back she dodged the other suits slash from its katana before she opened up using her shoulder mounted rail guns tearing the top half of the GINN apart before it exploded. Switching into her jet form she dodge the blast that the final GINN shot off before she fired a volley of missile's forcing the GINN to go on the defensive, she then switched to suit mode and drew one of her beam sabers and started attacking her opponent in close range in the hopes of preventing him the chance to attack.

"Just fall already!" she shouted as she was forced to dodge a kick followed up by a cannon blast. Putting away her beam saber she quickly pulled out her beam rifle as the pair continued to exchange shots.

_With Kira_

Further away from the _Archangel_, Kira dodged a blast from the GINN's ion cannon, only to watch it slam into the ground, vaporizing a pharmacy and the small stores and streets around it.

"No way…" she murmured, staring at the damage in horror. The GINN leveled the ion cannon and fired, Kira instinctively dodging, only to see an apartment building vaporized. "Bastard!"

Drawing the massive Schwert Gewehr, Kira charged recklessly forward, swinging her sword at the GINN. It dodged aside, then aimed his cannon at the Strike point-blank. Kira lifted her shield as the GINN fired, blocking the blast. The defenses held up as well as Natarle had promised, but the kinetic energy sent him crashing down into a warehouse.

The GINN fired again, but fortunately, Kira reacted in time to jump away from the blast.

"Son of a bitch!" She cursed, charging forward again. The GINN dodged the first swing again, but Kira used the momentum to spin about for a second swing, driving the GINN away before its pilot could fire the ion cannon again.

Watching all of this, Athrun leveled the Aegis's rifle at the Strike. But he couldn't pull the trigger. Athrun kept telling himself to do so, but he just couldn't. Not knowing who was in there. Letting that arm droop, the Redcoat instead began searching for the Strike's radio frequency, desperately hoping he could talk Kira down.

_With Amy_

Amy charged forward, her Beam Sabers held in both hands, and slashed at one GINN, only partially concerned by its evasion. She didn't want to kill. She'd help the _Archangel_ make the kills for her, but she really didn't want to do it herself. Or perhaps she really couldn't bring herself to do it just yet.

Mentally, of course, she knew it made no difference whether she or the _Archangel_ made the kill—she'd still be just as guilty for helping the warship, and the longer the GINNs survived, the more damage the colony could suffer.

But emotionally, she just wasn't ready.

The _Archangel_ locked onto one GINN with its Gottfried, and Mu fired, destroying the mobile suit. Unfortunately, it exploded near the shaft, damaging it further. Amy's eyes widened and she turned all her attention on her last GINN, determined to stop it.

Even if it meant soaking her hands in blood.

Anticipating where the GINN would be from its evasion of the _Archangel_'s weapons, Amy fired the Beam SMG, striking the GINN head on, then activating her Heat Saber built into her shield and slicing the GINN in half, destroying it and claiming her first kill.

She took a moment for that to sink in as she watched the debree from the GINN fall to the ground, she took a deep breath and decided to help Matthew and Jordan now.

_With Matthew and Jordan_

"Holy shit!" Matthew shouted as he ducked the Monster's beam saber that nearly cut the Warrior's head clean off. "Jordan, why didn't you tell me he was there?"

"I didn't see him there before!" Jordan replied as he fired his head Vulcan's at the Monster. The black mobile suit used the buildings as cover, and flew low to the ground, missing his barrage of weapons fire.

"Just how fast is that thing?" Jordan complained as he drew out the Exia Kai's rifle, and took aim.

"_Jordan, Wait!_" Matthew said. "_The beam could do damage on Heliopolis!_"

_Damn. _Jordan thought as he holstered the rifle, and switched it to sword mode.

Unfortunate, Kane did not share that hesitation. He raised the Monster's hands and started firing a barrage of Purple beam's from his suits hands. Jordan and his brother managed to dodge the barrage, but what missed up, impacted on the interior of Heliopolis.

"Damnit! Matt, we gotta take this guy out now before he destroys all of Heliopolis!" Jordan shouted.

"_Easier said than done Jordan!_" Matthew said. He then brought out his Beam Scythe and sliced at the Monster. The Monster jumped up and fired its own beam cannons at the Warrior, but Matthew dodged just in time.

"If anything, could we cut off one of its arms? Or both?" Jordan asked. "Those beam cannons are starting to piss me off!"

"_Allow me!_" A voice on the radio said. From above, the Thunder with its Heat Saber drawn, descended upon the Monster.

Amy swiped the sword once, but the Monster evaded. But he didn't notice that in Amy's other arm was a single beam Saber, and she then pulled the Saber up, and cut off the Monster's left arm off.

"FUCKING FINALLY!" Matthew cheered on the Radio. "We got a piece of that bastard!"

"Way to go Amy!" Jordan said as the Hero hovered up to the Thunder.

The Monster, now missing an arm, began to retreat . "_Bastards…all of you!_" THey could hear him shout. "_Next time we meet…your dead. You'll all pay you Natural loving bastards!_"

Jordan grip on the controls tightened. "And we will be waiting you murderer." he snarled as the Monster disappeared.

"_Come on, lets finish this up!_" Matthew said as he took out his beam scythe, and advanced against the remaining enemy GINN's.

"Alright, lets do this!" Jordan said as he charged forward with his Katana swords.

_With Ryu_

Ryu had to admit, the pair had improved since he last fought them in the battle of Endymion, their team work was streamlined and often put him on the defensive, even after he destroyed Jacques' katana forcing him to use his rifle instead. Moving to the side he dodged a shot from Naleen's sniper rifle as she kept her distance from the dueling pair, bringing his suit around he drew out his sniper rifle but didn't go into sniper mode, instead he brought both the rifle and Exia Kai in Rifle mode to bear on Jacques GINN and fired off a series of shots crippling the machine and removing it from combat before turning back to Final opponent "One down, one to go." He muttered as he went into sniper mode and started a deadly dance with the golden sniper once again.

_with Kira_

Kira continued her attack on the GINN, but the veteran pilot kept pulling perfect evasions at the last minute, using them to get a firing angle. One shot had only missed because they were too close together for the Pilot to get a proper angle, and he'd followed that up with a physical blow. But even still, Kira was being forced to dodge more than she was able to block with her shield, and the damage to the colony was showing.

"You bastard!" roared Kira, grabbing the Midas Messer beam boomerang and tossing it at the GINN after the latter vaporized one of the cables at a point near the shaft, sending the massive support crashing into the ground to inflict massive damage on the colony.

The GINN dodged the slow moving object easily, but as he moved back into firing position, the boomerang came back around, neatly slicing through the GINN's right shoulder.

In that instant, Kira charged forward and the Schwert Gewehr sliced the GINN in half.

_Archangel_

"Dammit, we aren't getting anywhere like this," Mu growled as the Archangel shook from the numerous impacts to the hull from the pair of GINNs circling them unable to take them out with the warships missile's or Igelstellungs "Give me full control of the Godfrieds!"

"Commander La Flagga!" Natarle protested "Do you know how astronomically impossible it is for you to hit a GINN with the main cannons?"

"Don't you know, I make the impossible possible." Mu bragged as he took control of one of the Godfried cannons and took aim at one the GINN's dancing around the Archangel pulling the trigger he managed to hit the GINN destroying the lower half of the mobile suit, but also destroying the main support structure of the Colony "OH SHIT!"

_Back with Kira_

Kira raised her sword, wondering if the pilot of the Aegis was the same person who'd captured it—Athrun.

Before she could attack, a familiar voice came over the radio.

"_Kira? Kira Yamato, is that you in there?_"

"Athrun…" muttered Kira. "So… that really is you, isn't it?" Her grip on the Strike's controls tightened. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"_You're one to talk! Why the hell are you helping these people?_"

_With Ryu_

Ryu's eyes widened as he saw the support structure get destroyed "No, I've failed, GOD DAMMIT ALL." He swore violently as the colony started to fall apart. Looking around frantically he saw the ZAFT forces beginning to withdraw from the colony, to his right the Raptor, Raven, Hero, Warrior, and Thunder were both trying to get to the Archangel fighting against the winds generated by the explosive decompression looking over to where he saw Kira last his eyes widened in fear as she was desperately fighting against the winds and trying to avoid the Aegis who was in mobile armor mode trying to capture the Strike in its claws.

"Kira!" Ryu cried over the radio out at he started firing off volleys of shots from his rifle forcing the Aegis to back off as the Dynasty flew in between the Aegis and the Strike "Back off" he growled to the pilot of the Aegis both the Dynasty's beam sabers ready for combat when the station shook again causing the mobile suits to lurch. Acting quickly out of instinct honed by battle Ryu quickly turned his mobile suit and withdrew his weapons to grab the Strike just as the station gave one final lurch as it fell apart with its pieces spiraling off into space separating the Dynasty and Strike from the Aegis.

_Meanwhile_

_Onboard the Hades_

Zar Hellfury stood on the bridge of the _Aztec _class battleship _Hades. _He was currently waiting for a report from her daughter, Sayla Hellfury, as he had sent her to investigate some strange activity around Heliopolis.

Zar was the Father of Sayla, and Kane. He stood at 6'10, with short dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. He wore his own customized Commanders uniform, which was mostly black, with some red trimming.

"Sir, incoming message for Sayla's team." Captain Dren said. Zar smiled. "Good," he said. "patch her though."

The front view screen then showed a woman in a cockpit, wearing a red zaft flight suit, blond hair, and blue eyes. "Commander," she said.

Zar crossed his arms across his chest. "Sayla, how many times must I tell you, you can call me Father when its just us." He said. "Anyways, what's the word?"

"Uhh…" Sayla said, scratching her hair. "We have a slight situation…I'm sending the combat data to you now."

A few moments later, a video feed showing ZAFT GINN's attacking the _Neutral _colony of Heliopolis, a large explosion on the side of the said colony, followed by a familure white CGUE exiting through the hole, and ending it off with a series of explosions, and Heliopolis collapsing.

"And, that's what happened." Sayla said.

On the outside, Zar was able to maintain his composure. However on the inside, he was absolutely fuming. '_That bastard Le Cruset!_' he thought In anger. '_Knowing him…he attacked without authorization from the Council…_'

"Your orders sir?" Dren asked.

"Sayla, you and your team continue watching." Zar said. "Keep your eyes on Le Cruset's forces and the EA."

"yes sir." Sayla said, and her image disappeared. Zar then looked at the debris field that was once Heliopolis. '_This…is going to lead to a series of events that may change the tide of the war…I know it._'

Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU


	5. Chapter 4: The Dragon's Roar

_With Kira_

Kira groaned as consciousness returned to her, her head aching from when it smashed against the cockpit when Heliopolis fell apart "No," she whimpered as she saw the debris float around her "I've failed."

"_No, we've failed._" Ryu's sad voice filtered through the radio as his face popped up on the video link "_I'm sorry Kira, if only-_"

"Don't," she whispered surprising Ryu "We did our best, and the only people who got hurt are the ones who refused to evacuate to the shelters when the warning came on."

"_Yeah,_" he whispered back giving a sad smile "C'mon_, let's get back to the Archangel, I've already reported that we are alive and well, Chris and Liz are fine to, they managed to get aboard before the station collapsed. We're still looking for Jordan, Matthew, and Amy, but I'm sure their fine. _"

Kira nodded in relief as she maneuvered her suit beside Ryu's as they started back to the Archangel.

_With Jordan_

"_Jordan…Jordan you alright? Hey little bro, speak to me!_"

Matthew's voice was the first thing Jordan noticed when he regained consciousness, next to the fact his head hurt like hell. '_Fuck!' _he thought. _Did I get hit by a brick?'_ He shook off the pain, and blinked a few times to clear his vision. "I'm fine Matt." Jordan replied. "But…could I get the licenses plate of the _Nazca _that hit me?"

Matthew chuckled slightly, but then he noticed where we were.

"…no…" Jordan muttered. Heliopolis…was destroyed. Debris filled the space that was once his home. "No…not…Heliopolis…"

"I'm sorry Jordan." Matthew said. "I should have tried-"

"Matt, stop with the should haves and shit." Jordan interrupted him. "What's done is done. And hopefully, the others Parents made it out alive."

Matthew nodded. "So are you able to move?"

"Ya." Jordan said. "Engines are operating- hu?"

He then noticed a twinkling light; he looked to see the Thunder floating nearby. "Amy!" Jordan said as he boosted towards the Thunder, with the Warrior following.

"Amy?" He asked. "Amy, are you alright?" No reply. "Amy!" he said, louder. Now he got a reply. "J...Jordan?" A soft voice said. Jordan slouched in relief. "Amy…" he said. "Are you alright?" "Y-y-y-yes." She stuttered. "But…Heliopolis…"

"We tried our best, Amy." Jordan said. "If we're lucky, you're Parents got out alright."

"Ya…" Amy said.

"Can your suit move?" he asked.

She flicked a few switches, her engines ignited, but then they shorted out. "It's damaged." She said. "The engines are offline."

"Come on." Jordan said; he had the Hero grab the Thunder by its hand. "I'll carry ya back." She smiled. "_Bringing back any memories?_" Matthew said, raising an eyebrow. "Ya…" she said."When we first met."

FLASHBACK

6 Years ago

Amy crouched down behind a large Dumpster. She got lost from her Sister, and her parents, and now a group of thugs chased her through the alleys of Orb. _Why did'nt they leave me alone? _She thought as she hugged her knees. One of the bullies kicked her, and now her leg hurt a lot. She had a lot of other bruises, and cuts. _Why did they hit me? I never even met them before! _She thought, on the verge of crying.

"Hey, are you alright?" A calm voice said. Sarah startled, and looked up. Standing a few feet in front of her, crouching down was a boy just as old as she was. She never met this boy before, would he start hitting her too? She backed away, her back now against the Dumpster. "Hey, don't worry." The kid said, kneeling down more. "I'm not gonna hurt you. What's your name?"

Sarah looked at the boy. He had Short brown hair, looking like it was cut recently. And he had deep brown eyes. He was also wearing a Red-and-black shirt, with blue jeans, and a blue Jacket. It was the eyes that she looked deeply into. They were…peaceful. His face was reassuring, and she felt…safe with this boy…even though she never met him before, she felt something with him.

"A-a-Amy S-Sierra." She stuttered, tightening her Grip on her hurting legs. The boy smiled. "Nice to meet you Amy." He said. "My name is Jordan Takeo. Are you alright Amy?" Amy calmed down slightly. "N-no." she said. "My legs hurt my left really bad. And I'm…cold."

Jordan thought for a moment, he then took on his Blue jacket and put it on Amy's shoulders, which she blushed ever so slightly too. "That a little better?" Jordan Asked, Amy nodded. "Yes." She said. "But my legs still hurt."

"Where do you live?" Jordan asked. "If you want I can…" he blushed a little. "…carry you home?" She thought about it for a moment. "…Tushiki street, 106." She said. "Really? Wow I live at 105!" he said. "Strange we never met." Amy smiled.

Then he helped her onto his back. "Wow, your light Amy." He said which she blushed in embarrassment too. "Hey, do you have any friends?" Jordan asked. Amy grew sad again "No, I don't," she admitted "Just my sister, and my Parents really...but nobody else."

"Well you do now!" Jordan shouted. Amy had a shocked expression on her face before smiling widely and giving Jordan a tight hug from behind as he blushed. "Thank you, so much!" She said. "D-Don't mention it!" he stuttered out, blushing even more causing her to laugh.

"Amy!" A voice called out. The two turned to face another girl, slightly taller than Jordan, and Amy. She was running forward, her red hair was just as short as Amy's at ear-length, and with lightish brown eyes. She also at the moment had he hands into red fists. "I swear if you hurt my sister I'm gonna-!" she yelled as she raised her fists. "Nee-san, wait!" Amy shouted, causing her to stop in her tracks. "B-but Amy-" she said, but she was cut off by Amy. "He's not mean!" She said. "He's nice…he helped me!" For a good few seconds, the three stared at each other.

Then the girl sighed. "Sorry." She said to Jordan. "I didn't mean to scare ya." "Naw, ya didn't scare me." Jordan said, smiling. "Jordan Takeo." The girl smiled. "Hikari Sierra." She said. "If you haven't guessed, I'm Amy's older sister." She then looked at the condition her sister was in, and she gasped. "A-Amy!" she said, running to her side. "What happened to you?"

"Some people chased me." She said, still memorized from when she was attacked. "They kept hitting me…they wouldn't stop…I didn't even know them, but they kept calling me a Monster! And a 'blue world'" she continued to hold back the urge to cry.

"Then they were Idiots." A new voice said, the girls tensed up, but Jordan smiled. "Nii-san!" he cheered as Matthew appeared from behind a corner, his hands in his pockets as he walked up to them. "There you are Jordan." He said. "I see you've been making a few Girlfriends." Both Amy and Jordan Blushed, and tried to hide it from each other. However Hikari and Matthew both caught them.

"Anyways, are you alright?" he asked, directing his question at the girl.

"N-not really…" Amy said. "My leg really hurts…"

"You can come over to our place." Matthew suggested. "Our Dad is a part-time doctor. By the way, I'm Jordan's Brother Matthew."

"We were actually taking her home, Nii-san." Jordan said. "Said she lived right next door to us!"

Matthew smiled a bit. "Ah, so you must be the Sierra siblings?" he asked, and they nodded. "Alright, let's go then." As they continued walking, Amy asked the question: "So…does that make us all friends now?"

Jordan glanced at Matthew, who smiled widely and nodded. "Ya." He said. "We're friends now."

END FLASHBACK

"I still can't believe how low people sink to." Jordan said. "What kind of sick group of people would beat up a little girl?"

"People that really hate coordinators." Matthew said grimly. "We both know how bad things can get all too well." Jordan nodded. "I hope that the Orb police got those bastards." He said, but then something caught his eye. "Matt!" he shouted when he recognized the object "It's an escape pod, its thrusters are damaged."

"_Understood, let's round it up and fulfill our good deed of the day._" He confirmed lightly as he made a course correction while Matt gave him a small smile of gratitude.

Matthew grabbed a side of the pod, while Jordan in the Hero carried the Thunder back to the ship. They all gave a large sigh of relief when it came into view "_Archangel this is GAT-X002 Warrior, GAT-X001 Hero and GAT-X317 Thunder,_" Matthew called out "_The Thunder's thruster's__**(hey the rhymed!) **__Were damaged, and we have picked up a damaged life pod and are requesting permission to board._"

"_WHAT!_" Natarle's shocked voice came through "_You can't honestly expect us to-_"

"_Ensign Badgiruel,_" Murrue interrupted "_Are you suggesting we leave these civilians here to die?_"

"_Of course not Captain, but-_" the ensign protested weakly

"_But nothing,_" the captain snapped "_Bring them aboard Mr. Takeo._"

"Yes ma'am" Jordan responded with a smirked that was shared by Matthew and Amy as they touched down and guided their suits into the hanger before parking the suits onto the bracing and recharging platforms and stepping out.

Pushing off from the Thunder Amy allowed herself a moment to adjust to the feeling of a Zero-gee environment before making her way over to Ryu and Kira who were floating nearby the escape pod. She, Matthew, and Jordan joined the two as Ryu was talking with Kira. "Don't worry," he said "I'm sure your parents are fine."

Kira only bit her lip gently "I know, but I still worry." She admitted.

"Don't worry; the only people that wouldn't have made it would be the people who didn't evacuate." Jordan said. "I'm sure their fine Kira."

"Kira! Ryu!" a shout called their attention to the pod where Flay had just exited and had spotted them "Are we on a ZAFT ship?" she asked in fear.

"No, this is a prototype EA vessel." Ryu responded as soothingly as his patience allowed, he never really could stand the girl, to prim and proper really.

"No way you're lying!" Flay gasped "Those are _Mobile Suits_." She then eyed Matthew who was still in his Red Flight suit. "And _he's _wearing a Zaft flight suit!" she growled.

Ryu groaned as he felt a headache coming on "The mobile suits are EA prototypes," Kira responded before Ryu, thankfully. "And the pilot is a friend."

"How can you be so sure?" she demanded. "He's Zaft! A coordinator!"

Matthew glanced at Jordan. "She's one of _them?_" he asked. Jordan nodded. "Flay, calm down." He said. "He is no enemy. He's actually my older brother."

"Your…b-brother?" she asked, startled by this.

"Yes. I thought he died at the Bloody Valentine." Jordan said. "He joined Zaft because he couldn't stand by while the E.A was so liberal in using Nukes on civilian colonies. But when his superior him to attack Heliopolis, he had no idea me and our parents were living here."

"But…are you sure we can really trust him?" She asked, still a little worry.

"Flay, I'd trust Matthew here with my life need-be." Jordan said, with such Conviction behind his voice, Flay actually believed him.

"I trust him too, Flay." Amy said. "I've known Matt before he moved to the PLANT's. He holds his friends and family above all else."

Flay stared at Matthew for a moment, before sighing. "I guess I can put up with your…even if you're a Coordinator." She said the last part in a whisper, but Matthew heard it.

"You'll get use to him." Jordan said. "Now come on, Sai, Tolle, Mir and Hikari are here too."

_Later_

_Cafeteria_

Ryu sighed in relief as they left Flay with Sai and their civilian to explain everything to the red-head '_That girl gives me a headache just by speaking._' He moaned to himself as he and Kira made their way through the hallways to the dorm they had occupied last night when Mu intercepted them. "What's up Hawk, and make it quick were tired." Ryu commented and punctuated it with a yawn.

Mu only gave snort as he passed the two of them packages "Here these are your uniforms," he explained "Ryu, the captain decided to have you as her second in command on the ship and direct control of the pilots."

Ryu raised an eyebrow as Kira looked slightly bewildered "Let me get this straight, she wants _me_, the guy who left the EA after slaughtering lord knows how many _EA_ soldiers at Junius Seven?" he as incredulously "Is she on something, cause I'll have what she's having."

Mu laughed out loud at his comment and his confused expression "She want you to be her second because you have actual combat experience and, unlike me or Badgiruel you have the trust of the civilian pilots and a portion of the civilians from the escape pod _and_ most of the mechanical crew led by Murdoch." He explained as he repeated what Murrue said to him before she sent him to give the news and deliver the uniforms.

Ryu sighed as he tucked the package under his arm "Fine, but I'm going to bed." He moan as he started walking again only for Mu to stop him once more.

"You have your own quarters now Ryu," Mu said "All of the crew does, but we're having to double up due to space constraints, as it is I'm bunking with Neumann, the ships pilot, Chris and Liz are sharing a room because their sibling, the same goes with Amy, Hikari, Jordan and Matthew, _unfortunately_ the two of you will have to share a room as well." He added with a sly smirk.

Ryu and Kira blinked at the blond before Ryu groaned once again and rubbed his temples "You had something to do with that didn't you." He stated as Mu whistled innocently while Kira was fighting down a blush that threatened to overtake her, but was failing miserably.

"Anyways I'll show ya to your quarters." Mu said after being forced to dodge a half-hearted punch from Ryu.

After Mu guided them to their room Kira stepped into the bathroom and quickly discarded her civvies and changed into the under garments that was provided realizing that she couldn't wear her uniform to bed she started blushing furiously '_I'll Kill him._' She swore as she thought of that bastard blond before she noticed something other than her uniform in the package. It was a simple white shirt that was a couple of sizes too large for her, but would work well for sleeping in. '_Well, maybe I'll just kick him in the nads._' She amended with a smirk as she put the shirt on before gathering up her clothes and exited.

Ryu promptly blushed a light shade of pink when he saw that Kira was only wearing an oversized shirt as she giggled at his flustered expression before he gather his own stuff and entered the bathroom and exited a short while later in a pair of boxers and a shirt and smiled at the form of Kira curled up in one of the beds fast asleep. "Good night Kira." He whispered softly as he pulled the covers over her before tuning the light off and climbed into his own bed and promptly fell asleep.

_With Jordan_

Once Jordan got into his earth volunteer uniform, he couldn't help but scratch at every place possible. "This thing is scratchier than that suit mom made me wear to that Christmas church service." He complained.

"You're telling me." Matthew said. Jordan turned around, and he noticed him wearing the same E.A uniform as he was. "Never in my life did I think I would wear _this._"

Jordan laughed out loud. "Same here." he said as they entered their room.

"So Jordan," Matthew said with a fiendish grin on his face. "Is Amy your Girlfriend yet?"

Jordan choked, and his eyes went wide. "W-what?" he said. "N-no! Amy's not my Girlfriend!"

"Oh, come on Jordan!" Matthew said as he sat down in his bed. "I've _seen _time and time again the looks you give her. I can see it in your eyes. You _love _her!"

Jordan stuttered as he tried to form a counter, but he sighed in defeat. "Fine, I admit…I do _like _Sarah." he said. "More than I've liked anyone…But…I don't know how she feels about me. I don't know if it's real love, or just something like a brother-sister kinda thing. I don't want to ruin our friendship just because of that."

"You're afraid of being rejected." Matthew said, lying down in his bed. "You're afraid she will say no." Jordan just nodded his response. "Jordan, what do you think is worse?" He said. "Knowing that she rejected you, and still be friends…or living forever not knowing that answer." Matthew was silent for a few minutes.

"Jordan, here is my advice to you." He said. "Find out for yourself. Find out how she really feels about you…before it's too late…before you can never ask her how she feels."

He turned his head towards his brother, but he had already fallen asleep. _What do you mean? _He thought. _Matt…what's happened to you since Junius 7?_

_With Amy and Hikari_

Amy finished putting on her pink earth forces uniform about the same time as Liz did. "Why do I have the impression that the E.A is all sexists?" Amy said as she looked at herself in the Mirror. "Pink suit, tiny mini-skirt, it's like their asking for guys to drool over us."

Liz laughed at her friend's statement. "True." She said. "But, I just ignore it. Besides, that new look of yours may be what you need for Jordan to notice you!"

Amy blushed at her statement. "L-Liz!" she said. "You said not to talk about that!"

"Amy, you can't hide those feelings for Jordan for long." She said. "You told me yourself you _Liked _Jordan. And this is finally your chance!"

Amy just shook her head. "I-I can't just _ask _him!" she said. "What if he likes Hikari more than me?"

Liz just sighed. "Amy, are you gonna live your whole life not knowing, or would you rather like to know how he feels, regardless of how he answers?"

Amy stuttered. "I-Its more complicated than that." She said.

Liz just sighed again. "Is it?" she asked as she headed for the door. "Amy, this is a golden opportunity to find out Jordan's feelings about you. And honestly, in my opinion, you should take it." With that, Liz left Amy to her thought.

_On the bridge of the Vesalius_

_Vesalius, Bridge_

"The legged ship will go one of two ways," Rau announced as the Crueset Team stood around the briefing table on the bridge "They will either make a straight line for the moon to rendezvous with the 5th fleet, _or_ they will go for Artimis base and resupply there."

"Where do you believe they will go commander?" Nicol asked curiously.

"Normally I would say they would go to Artimis," Rau admitted with a frown "But with the Dragon aboard I cannot say for certain."

"Why is that?" Yuuka asked in confusion.

"He has an annoying habit of proving us wrong any chance he gets." Naleen stated in annoyance "I don't know if I will strangle the guy for causing us so much trouble or shake his hand for his genius, probably both."

"Hn." Jacques grunted in agreement as he eyed the map "They will most likely go to Artimis."

"Agreed," Rau said nodding his head "Let us wait and see what their move shall be."

_Later_

_Archangel, Kira and Ryu's Quarters_

_Explosions flashed through the sky as a 16-year old Ryu weaved through the endless tide of GINNs that ZAFT had sent out to destroy the base at Endymion. Raising his rifle Ryu started returning fire at the one's targeting him and his squad. '_They must really fear the capabilities of the Moebius Zero if they sent three of their fleets to wipe the Zero corps base._' He thought to himself as he continued to punch through the GINNs that were attacking the base "Have they made contact with Headquarters yet?" he asked his squad mate and close friend Mu la Flagga._

_"_Not yet no,_" Mu stated as his Zero's Gunbarrels destroyed a GINN that got too close to the third member of their squad Mickey Johansson who had a silver colored Zero "_For some reason We can't get through._"_

_"_There is some kind of interference with our long range communications_" Kyle Flynn a pilot of a dark blue Zero speculated "_ZAFT must be breaking out some new toys._"_

_"_I hate it when they do that._" Mickey complained as he returned the favor by disabling a GINN that was on Mu's tail._

_"_I hear that_" Yuna Falcon sighed, she was a pilot of a white Zero with blood red stripes "_I just hope that this damn war would end already._" Flipping her Zero she fired her rail guns blasting away a GINN that tried to take her from behind._

_"Got that straight," Ryu said as his bayonet pierced a cockpit of a GINN before throwing it at a second GINN as it exploded taking said GINN with it "Kyle any idea's on where the interference is originating from?"_

_"_Just give me a sec,_" Kyle responded as he rolled away from a series of shots from a GINN "_Got it, it's at the center of the fleet though._"_

_"_Son of a bitch._" Yuna cursed, she was officially the squad commander but most of the time someone else would lead the squad if they had more experience in the terrain they were fighting in "_Any ideas?_"_

_"_Don't tell me you're thinking of charging straight in Commander._" Mickey pleaded in alarm_

_"_Alright then, I won't tell you, I'll order you to._" Yuna retorted seriously "_Ryu you take point and show'em just how good that suit of yours is._"_

_"Yes ma'am," Ryu confirmed with a grin as he drew out his katana and took the point of the V formation the squad took up "Besides Mickey don't you remember our motto?"_

_At once the entire squad chanted "_Make the Impossible Possible_." As thy retracted their Gunbarrels and accelerated to the ZAFT fleet._

_As they charged forward the other Zero pilots seeing the legendary Falcon Squad started taking the fight to the enemies rallied around them and joined them in a charge that would be remembered for ages to come. Leading the pack Ryu quickly activated what made the ZGMF-X990 Codename: X so dangerous "GO FANGS" he shouted as the prototype DRAGOON system on his mobile suit activated launching six dagger-like objects from the container on the X's waist and circle around him before moving to his will and started punching through the armor of the GINNs disabling some and destroying others as his sniper-like accuracy pick off many who approached him and his katana finished off anyone lucky enough to get close to him as the Zero's behind him opened up with their own weapons raining bullets upon the ZAFT fleet._

_Unfortunately as the battle wore on more and more of the Zero's started to fall, even with the advantage of their wired Gunbarrels and each pilots spatial awareness, their small contingent were no match for the endless tide that was the ZAFT fleet. Mickey swerved out of the way of rifle fire of one only to be met by the heavy sword of another "_Mickey!_" Kyle yelled as his long time friend went down in flames "You BASTARDS!" With that as his war cry Kyle plunged head first into the swarm of GINN descending upon them tearing through them until one of the GINNs shot through his reactor blowing the armor up taking Kyle and two GINNs unfortunate enough to be too close with it._

_"God Dammit, Kyle!" Ryu yelled in desperation as his Fangs tore the offending mobile suit apart while his rifle shot through a cockpit of another and his thrown Katana pierced yet another one. "Mu, Yuna, Form up!"_

_Following his advice the other two remaining squad members flew up beside him as they continued to punch their way through the screen of GINNs blocking them from their objective. After finally punching through the trio started weaving through the anti air fire from the Battle ships in the main fleet as they tried to shoot down the remaining members of Falcon Squad._

_"_Ryu,_" Yuna whispered as he flipped around and emptied his final clip into a GINN pursuing them "_Take care of yourself and keep moving forward like I know you can and always remember, I love you._"_

_"Yuna?" Ryu asked in confusion as he turned around only to see Yuna's red stripped white Zero Kamikaze their target ship right where the engine would be causing a chain reaction blowing the ship up. "YUNA!" he cried out his eyes widening in fear as he hoped beyond hope that he would see her Zero burst through the explosion like he had see many times before only to be damaged beyond what any bullet could hope to accomplish as he and Mu stared in horror. Even Sebastian was shocked at what had transpired._

_Ryu suddenly had a vision of a crystal the same color of his jade-green eyes spiraling through a black background before it shattered in a golden explosion of light causing a wave of clarity to wash over him and his eyes to morph to golden colored with silted draconic pupils, letting out a roar that many survivors would report to be draconic in nature Ryu charged the Shocked GINNs that surrounded them as and Mu watched in utter awe._

Ryu suddenly snapped awake, and he was sweating and breathing heavily. After a minute of calming himself down, he released a massive sigh. '_That damn dream again._' He thought as he settled himself back into bed. '_It was bad before, but now…It's just getting worse._' He glanced over where Kira was sleeping. She was still sleeping soundly.

Ryu would admit, he did love Kira as much, if not more than he did Yuna before her, along with most of his squad's death. And he had a suspicion that Kira may at the least be interested in him.

Regardless, Ryu was not going to push Kira. If she really does like him, then she will tell him when she feels ready.

He also wants to make sure that he is ready himself to move on. He had already gotten over the death of Yuna years ago. But he was not sure if he could start another Relation with someone else without that holding him back.

_"Take care of yourself and keep moving forward like I know you can"_

Those words have haunted Ryu ever since Endymion. '_What would you say, Yuna?_' he thought as he settled back down into bed. '_What would you think of me now…_' before he knew it, he had fallen back to sleep.

_Later_

_In the Hanger_

"Find anything yet?" Matthew called out from inside the Hero's Cockpit. "Nothing yet!" Jordan replied as he surveyed the interior of the Hero's Engine.

Jordan and Matthew were continuing to work with the Hero and Warrior. They had no idea how their machine's energy batteries were still at 100%. They were really confused.

At first, neither of them didn't worry about it, seeing that they were protecting their friends at the time. But now that they've got a chance to calm down a bit, He and his Brother had taken some time to check out their Engines.

So far…nothing. It looks like a normal Gundam power generator from what they've seen on the other machines. "Ok, well I'm lost." Jordan said as he banged his head on the Hero. "I don't get it." Matthew said. "If it's just another normal engine, why does it have infinite power?"

"Hell if I know." Jordan said as he banged his head again. But that was when he saw it. "What the hell?" Jordan asked."Jordan, what is it?" Matthew asked.

"It's some king of code box." He said. "It has a keyboard on it. Hang on a sec."

Jordan pressed the "Enter" key, and then a set of letters appeared on the small screen. "PASSWORD:" it said. "Shit." He said. "It needs a password."

"Well, what do you think it is?" Matthew asked.

Jordan started thinking of a Proper password. For a minute he thought about it, Then It hit him.

"No way it's that easy." Jordan muttered. "What?" Matthew asked.

He then typed into the Pad: "Gundam" he said as he typed the word. Jordan clicked enter. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then suddenly, part of the engine…opened up. And then out came…something from the engine. And to be honest…he had no clue what it was.

"What the hell is that?" Matthew asked who had gotten out of the cockpit to see.

It was attached to a pair of handle-like objects attached to the engine. It was Spherical in shape, the sides of the exterior were silver steel colored, but its very center had a glowing blue light. "What have we here?" Jordan said. He then took a closer look at the strange object. He then noticed a set of Letters on the Silver part of the Object. "Advance…Reactor…Core?" he said as he read it out loud.

"Advance Reactor Core, eh?" Matthew repeated. "Well, whatever it is, this has to be what's causing the infinite energy for the Hero and Warrior."

"Definitely." Jordan said. "But…what is it exactly?" He sighed. "Whatever, right now isn't the best time to go pocking around on it. I don't wanna mess with is further in fear of it not functioning properly. We'll ask Murdoch about it later. For now, let's just call it an A.R.C Reactor."

"Arc reactor, eh?" Matthew said. "First Gundams, now Arcs. What's next?"

_Later _

_Bridge_

"I know we're in a critical situation," said Murrue. "But I have no intention of surrendering." Mu turned in his seat to look at Murrue curiously. "I refuse to hand over either this ship or the other G-weapons to ZAFT. We must get them safely to Atlantic Federation HQ, no matter what the risks are."

"Captain," said Natarle, after a moment of silence. "I recommend we select Artemis as our destination." "Artemis…?" said Murrue quietly, and somewhat doubtfully. "That's a Eurasian military satellite, right?" "The one with the umbrella shield?" said Matthew, turning his chair completely. "Hm," mumbled Natarle, nodding slightly. She then turned to the primary display screen, which brought up a general map of the area. "Given our present location, it is the most easily accessible allied outpost."

"Both the G weapons and this ship lack a recognition code acknowledged by our allies, right?" said Murrue. "The question remains: would Eurasia…?"

"I'm certainly aware," said Natarle, interrupting Murrue. "Of the fact that the _Archangel_ and the G weapons are both considered to be sensitive military secrets of the Atlantic Federation. However, should we set a course to the moon; you can't expect us to arrive there without encountering at least some resistance along the way. In addition, we left in a hurry and we weren't sufficiently supplied, which means were urgently in need of provisions."

"I realize that," said Murrue. "I have to say that even Eurasia will be sympathetic to our situation," said Natarle. "You've obviously never met Rear admiral Garcia." Ryu said. Almost spitting at the name of the Admiral. "Bad history?" Jordan asked. "_Very _bad history between us." Ryu replied.

"As it stands, the most practical course of action would be to avoid confrontation as much as possible, and re-supply at Artemis, where we could also attempt to contact Lunar Headquarters."

"Artemis is it?" asked Mu. "I wonder if everything will go exactly as planned."

"Hard to say," said Murrue. "But it does seem to be our only viable option right now."

"Prepare decoy," ordered Murrue. "As soon as the decoy has cleared the ship, we'll start the main engines and lay in a course directly to Artemis. We will then switch to inertial flight in order to avoid enemy detection. Now, level two battle stations. Reposition the ship as quickly as possible."

"A silent run until we reach the Artemis base," commented Mu. "It should take us about two hours," he estimated. "Now, it's up to luck." But then Jordan spoke up. "Wait." He said. "That's a waste."

"What's a waste?" Natarle asked the Pilot. "Well," Jordan said. "We're up against Rau La Crueset, a smart commander. He knows we'll either head for Artemis, or Lunar H.Q. But knowing him from what I've read, he'll probably think we're heading for Artemis anyway, due to it being a more well-defended station."

"Where are you getting at this?" Murrue asked, paying attention. Jordan smiled. "Listen up." he said, now grinning. "I think that it's gonna be inevitable for us to engage Zaft. So…why don't we strike first?" He then explained his Plan in full to the officers. "You're Crazy." Ryu stated. Jordan got a little depressed, thinking it was a good idea. "…Unfortunately for all of us on the ship…" Ryu continued, grabbing their attention. "I like Crazy." Ryu said, grinning. Jordan and Matthew returned said Grin. "Well, then let's get started!" Matthew said as he stood up and clapped his hands. "Cause there ain't no rest for the Wicked!"

_Later_

_Vesalius, Bridge, two hours later._

"Sir Contact!" one of the bridge crew reported suddenly causing all present to snap to attention "Major heat source heading towards Artimis Sir!"

"So we were right," Rau mused "Follow them but keep an eye out for any traps."

"Yes sir!" the crew chanted as they leapt to their tasks.

"I want you all to get to the hanger and get ready to launch," Rau ordered the red coats "If you cannot capture the mobile suit than destroy it, we cannot allow the EA to get their hands on them."

Snapping salutes the red coats made their way to the hanger and piled into their mobile suits 'Kira,' Athrun thought as images from the last battle flashed through his mind 'Why are you doing this? Why do you fight against your own people?' He remembered when the Dynasty stopped him from capturing Kira that time 'Is he the reason? Is he manipulating Kira to fight for the EA, no, that doesn't make sense, if he was truly loyal to the EA than he would not have attacked the peacekeeper force at Junius Seven, and would have remained afterwards. So why do they fight against their own kind?'

"_5 Minutes out, All suits prepare for launch._"

_Archangel Hanger_

Ryu grinned ferally as he watched the mobile suits launch from the pursuing ship and made their way to the Heat Rocket they had launched earlier towards Artimis.

"Alright you guys, get ready to launch, hit'em fast hit'em hard." He said over the radio alerting the others as he settled in and moved his suit to the catapult and watched as a 'Scylla' High Energy Cannon Shield was equipped to his suit. The Cannon was originally meant for something called 'the Astray Silver Frame' however one of these bad-boys was acquired shortly before Heliopolis was destroyed.

He was now in his flight suit that was mostly black with a green chest and shoulders while Chris wore a Mostly Midnight blue with white chest and shoulders and Liz wore a light blue with red chest and shoulders. Jordan wore a Red/Blue Flight suit; Amy had an Orange/White suit, while Matthew had a Black/Gold Trimmed suit. (Kira wears the same one as the anime.)

Taking several Deep breaths he looked over the vid screens at the rookie pilots, Liz, Chris, and Amy were fidgety and were looking a little green at the prospect of having to kill again, they had mostly dealt with it last night when they had realized what they had done, thankfully Mu had been nearby and helped them get over it. Matthew, Jordan and Hikari had helped Amy out.

Matthew was perfectly calm, but then again he wasn't really 'Green'. But he was worried about fighting his friends. Jordan was taking slow deep breaths, trying to keep calm.

However, Kira was looking apprehensive and was biting her lip anxiously as the 'Aile' pack was mounted onto the Strike. Switching to a private channel he opened it with Kira "Are you okay?" he asked in concern as he looked at her over the video screen "You look a little pale."

"Y-ya…I guess…so…" She said, but Ryu wasn't convinced. "Kira, I know you better." He said. "What is it; it's a secure channel here."

Kira sighed in defeat. "Ryu I…I know the Pilot of the Aegis." She admitted. "He's…Athrun Zala. We were Childhood friends…but I didn't know he joined Zaft…I didn't…"

"Kira, it's alright," Ryu soothed wishing he could hold her right now "If you want you can sit this fight out and I can disable and capture the Aegis."

"No, no," Kira refused "That's alright, this is something that I've got to do. Thank you for offering though."

Ryu nodded "Just let me know if you need help Kira, I'll come running." He swore making Kira smile gratefully.

"Thank you." She whispered before switching back to the squad link.

"_Trap is set, all units you are clear for launch._" Hikari's voice came through the radio, turns out that after Natarle had talked to Ryu their friends had showed up at the bridge asking if they could volunteer and assist in some way.

"Understood, let's go boys!" Ryu called out. First off to launch, was Matthew and Jordan.

"Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Lets Rock and Roll!"

"Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Lets cut 'em up!"

Ryu sighed. '_Gundam…It's gonna spread like wildfire now._' He thought.

"Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, Taking off!"

"Kira Yamato, Aile Strike Gundam, Lets do it!"

"Liz Dante, Raptor Gundam, Lets go!"

"Amy Sierra, Thunder Gundam, moving out!"

Ryu sighed with a grin. '_Called it…not that I'm complaining though._'

"Ryu Hisanaga, Dynasty Gundam, Engaging the Enemy!"

"Mu la Flagga, Moebius Zero Custom, Launching!" While the techs were repairing the Zero they had found a Gunbarrel Striker pack and decided to repurpose it so that Mu could do more damage to his opponents even with their phase shift.

_Meanwhile_

"_Where the Hell are they!_" Yzak raged as they group of Gundams, minus Kane's since his was damaged, and two GINNs drifted through an asteroid field and had found out that the heat source had disappeared completely surprising everyone completely.

"_Alright it's obvious that it was a decoy so everyone back to the-_" Naleen was cut off when a massive blast of blue-red energy blasted through the group narrowly missing the Lightning surprising the entire group.

They snapped out of it when several heat sources appeared on their radars placing the suits _behind_ them. "_Dammit Scatter!_" Naleen ordered with everyone quickly complying as the Dynasty went into sniper mode and started exchanging fire with the Grizzly and the Lightning drawing them further into the asteroid field with Amy helping him out, while Mu charged straight at Naleen and Jacques forcing their attention onto him while Chris and Liz faced off against Yzak and Dearka, Jordan and Matthew faced off against Nena and Johann, leaving Kira against Athrun and Nicol.

"Nicol you go and help Yuuka and Lev against the Dynasty, leave the Strike to me." Athrun ordered as he dodged a shot from the Strike.

"_Are you sure, we stand a better chance if we-_"

"Please Nicol let me handle the Strike," Athrun sounded almost pleading "The Dynasty is the bigger threat right now."

"_All right, but be careful._" Nicol warned before launching off into the direction that Yuuka and Lev went.

Focusing on the Strike Athrun brought up his shield and blocked a shot that would have blown the Aegis' head right off "Kira! Stop this nonsense, you're only being used can't you see that?"

"I am _not_ being used Athrun," Kira stated firmly "I had a choice and I chose the path that would allow me to protect my friends!" putting away her rifle Kira drew out her beam saber and clashed with Athrun "Why can't _you_ see that and just _leave us alone!_"

"But Kira-"

"But nothing Athrun, I know that you lost your mom at Junius Seven, but don't blame an entire race for the actions of a select few!"

"Dammit Kira, they are to blame for everything, can't you see that? They started this war, they used nukes first."

"You're sounding like a kid in the schoolyard after a fight!" Kira accused sharply as she ducked under a slash and slammed her shield into the torso of the Aegis throwing it back "Yes the EA started it, but they were being manipulated by Blue Cosmos!"

Athrun only grimaced as he drew out his beam rifle and squared off against his oldest friend.

_With Mu_

"Man I can see why Ryu had such a hard time against you guys." Mu commented as he swerved around a slash from Jacques and launched a rail blast at Naleen forcing her to give up her shot in favor of _not_ getting shot.

"_Coming from the Dragon's old teammate that`s high praise indeed._" Naleen retorted as she fired a shot attempting to destroy one of the gunbarrels but missed as Mu skillfully maneuvered them out of the way and fire several beams at Jacques who was attempting to cut another gunbarrel in half only for him to dodge.

"This is going to take awhile isn't it?" Mu complained as Naleen laughed while Jacques snorted.

_With Yzak and Dearka_

Yzak snarled as the Raven skillfully avoided his rifle fire while forcing Yzak to dodge the Raven's rail cannons or risk getting damaged or destroyed when Dearka intervened launching a volley of missiles forcing the Raven to go into mobile armor mode to dodge the missile, unfortunately Dearka was unable to follow up due to the Raptor blasting towards him in jet mode guns blazing forcing Dearka to dodge or be ripped to shreds by the amount of missiles that the suit launched "What the hell are they packing in those suits?" Dearka asked plaintively.

"Don't know, don't care, I just want them to DIE!" Izack shout in rage as he started fire multiple time but his rage _really_ affected his accuracy allowing the Raven to transform back into Suit mode and start attacking the Duel close range with his beam saber, unfortunately, that was a mistake as the Duel, as its name suggests is meant for Close-Combat, and there is a reason _why_ Yzak was chosen for the Duel, other than being a git, and that was his _much_ higher than average close combat scores. So using that natural gift he ducked under the Raven's swing and retaliated with a massive kick to the gut sending it tumbling back while Izack drew out his beam saber and prepared for close combat with the recovering Raven.

Dearka cursed his luck as the Raptor was _not_ a good match up for him with its higher maneuverability and the pilot definitely no slouch as they kept going in close forcing the Buster onto the defensive nearly the entire fight with his only main offence being his missiles and his 94mm high energy rifle, both being out stripped by the Raptor's and the pilots abilities while the Raptor was raining destruction with its missiles, beam rifle and rail guns '_Sometimes I hate my job._'

_With Jordan_

Jordan let loose with the Hero's armaments against the Shadow and Ghost. In one hand, his Exia Kai was in Rifle mode. While in his other hand, was a type 71 beam rifle.

"How many shots is it gonna tale to bring you down!" Jordan shouted as he fired away. The Ghost and Shadow dodging his shots.

"_Heh, more than what you've probably got._" The Shadow pilot replied as he fired his Beam sniper rifle. Witch Jordan avoided a hit from. "_By the way, you seem awfully young to be piloting that mobile suit, ya know?_"

"Wasn't really my choice to begin with." Jordan said as he switched his Exia into sword mode, and charged as he continued to fire with his beam rifle. "You can blame that Murderer Kane Hellfury for that one." The Ghost and Shadow paused for just a moment before resuming combat. "_What?_" the Shadow Pilot asked.

"During the attack, Kane personally killed my mother and father without hesitation." I replied. "They were just workers for Morgenroete. And I'm pretty sure he said 'Pathetic Naturals' over the corpse of my mother."

The pilot of the Ghost gasped, while the Shadow's pilot growled. "_If that's true, how are you still alive?_" he asked as he resumed combat. "_Kane has a knack of not leaving anyone behind when he enters his 'I'll kill all Naturals' state._"

Jordan smiled as he drew out a katana short sword and sped forward. "You can thank my Brother for that one." he said. "You know him as Matthew Takeo."

The Shadow activated his beam sabers and closed the distance. Their weapons met as sparks flew between his swords and his beams.

"_Wait, your Matthew's little Brother?_" The pilot of the Ghost asked. "_The same one he always seems to talk about?_"

Jordan nodded. "Yes." he said as he kicked the Shadow away. "If Matthew didn't intervene, I'd probably be dead right now."

"_Say…where is Matthew anyways?_" The Shadow pilot asked as he regained his balance after my kick.

"3…2…1…now!" Jordan shouted. Suddenly, the Warrior De-activated its Mirage Colloid and appeared right behind the Ghost with his beam Scythe raised. The Ghost pilot saw this and brought her beam sabers up to parry the scythe in time.

"_Sup, Nena, Johann. How ya doing?_" Matthew's voice came up on the Radio. "_I see you've met my Brother._"

"_That I have matt._" The Shadow pilot, now confirmed as 'Johann' said. "_I can already see the similarity. And I now fully understand why you did what you did." _

"_Ya, Kane tried to twist the truth." _Nena said as she forced the Warrior Back._"But don't think we'll be going easy on you two now._"

Matthew smiled. "_I wouldn't even dream of it, my friends._" He said.

_With Ryu and Amy_

Amy fired her beam rifle at the lightning as it twirls past her and Ryu's line of fire. "Damn, how fast is that thing?" Sarah complained.

"I don't know, just keep shooting ahead of it!" Ryu said.

_With Kira_

Kira was starting to get tired of this argument that continued throughout the entire fight with Athrun, she could understand why he joined ZAFT after his mother's death, but she couldn't understand the she was defending her friends, and when they reached the 5th fleet she would leave with said friends. Checking her power gauge she began to panic '_I'm nearly empty!_' she thought beginning to breathe quicker. '_Gotta get back to the Archangel._' Problem with that though the Archangel was too far away and with having to dodge Athrun's shots along with pushing her thrusters to their limits Kira's power quickly cut out and she was scooped up by Aegis in mobile armor mode "Dammit Athrun let me GO!"

"No! I'm doing this for your own good Kira, we ARE going to ZAFT."

"I don't _want_ to go to ZAFT Athrun; I am trying to go _HOME._"

"The plants are the home to all coordinators Kira."

"Shut the fuck up that is not my home, my home is ORB!" Kira started crying as her fear built up more and more of being unable to protect her friends, Being separated from Ryu, unable to see him smile again, to hear his laugh and his jokes, his advice, fell his soothing presence...to finally tell him how she _really _felt about him.

Hitting a pre-prepared radio sequence she set up a direct short bust communication with the Dynasty. "Ryu, please help me, I-I need you Ryu!" she whimpered.

_With Ryu_

Ryu and Amy had been maneuvering through the asteroid field ambushing the three ZAFT controlled Gundams that followed them in causing havoc and panic when he received Kira's message "_Ryu, please help me, I-I need you Ryu!_" Instantly he froze the four Gundams in front of him nervously waiting for something to happen.

_Begin Playing: MONSTER by Skillet: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=YXcfH1iUzB0_

Ryu experienced the same vision as the one from Endymion a Jade Crystal spun through his mind before exploding in a golden light making his eyes become draconic once more as absolute calm washed over him. Then he roared.

_Yuuka_

Yuuka, Amy and Lev froze as they heard the roar that emanated from the Dynasty; they didn't even have the time to blink as the Dynasty disappeared into the Asteroid field at speeds where a clip would kill you leaving Amy, Lev and Yuuka as very scared pilots.

_Mu, Jacques, Naleen_

"_There is the proof that the gods hate me._" Naleen moaned as she began shacking in fear with Jacques fairing no better than his counterpart wishing he at least had the galaxy between them and the awoken Dragon while Mu was beginning to worry about a repeat of Endymion.

"Don't you dare be dead kid, he needs you more than you know."

_Jordan, Matthew, Nena, and Johann_

"The fuck?" Jordan shouted after the roar had subsided. "I didn't think he could get _that _pissed off!"

"_Jordan…was that Ryu?_" Matt asked.

"You bet your ass it was him." He said as he watched Ryu make a Bee-line towards the Strike and Aegis. "I feel sorry for the pilot of the Aegis right now."

"_Nena, Johann, just giving you a recommendation, but I think you should retreat now._" Matthew said.

"_Ya, I think I should too._" Johann said. "_I'd say I hope I'd never have to fight you again…but let's face it, it's inevitable._"

Jordan laughed. "Probably." he said. "But when we do fight again, I hope we all survive. It's been nice to meet you too."

"_Same too you...Cutie!_" Said Nena as she gave a wink, and peace sign causing Jordan to blush, and Shadow and Ghost retreated, not before the Shadow gave them a quick salute.

"_Looks like Amy has some competition, Jordan!_" Matthew said.

"Shut up, Matt." Jordan said.

_Athrun, Kira, Ryu_

Athrun gasped in shock when he heard the roar that made his commander shiver in fear and blanched when he saw the Dynasty appear in front of him his sword positioned to cleave the Aegis apart and only a sudden turn saved him from being skewered, but he had to release the Strike as well.

"_Get to the Archangel, Kira!_" he heard the pilot shout to Kira over the radio.

"_R-right._" She whispered before clearing the area as fast as she could receiving some help from Mu who was left alone as Naleen and Jacques did _**not**_ want to cross Ryu right then.

Athrun would have gone after them but was currently trying to survive the continual assault from a very angry Endymion Dragon as he spared no expense ripping the Aegis to pieces joint by joint until the torso and the head remained with a terrified Athrun helpless at Ryu's mercy "_Be thankful for your friendship with Kira,_" the Dragon hissed "_The only reason I will not kill you for what you did is because it would break Kira's Heart, so I suggest you move along._"

Turning the suit around the Dynasty began to leave the field of battle "Why, Why do you care so much about Kira, your just using her!" Athrun cried out Causing the Dynasty to freeze. _'Oh shit.' _He thought.

"_Using her, USING HER,_" Ryu roared "_If it was up to me than she would not even be in that mobile suit to begin with! But then you bastards had to go and attack Heliopolis instead of waiting for them to leave and ambushing them! That is why she in the cockpit, not because someone is manipulating her! So I highly suggest you SHUT THE FUCK UP!_ _And the reason I care is because…_" Ryu sighed._ "Because I love her, I am her guardian as she is mine."_ However, Ryu didn't know he was transmitting this on an open channel, and Kira heard this loud and clear.

With that said he turned back to the Archangel and blasted away as Vesalius launched its retreat flares from a safe distance.

(End Song)

_Later_

_With Ryu_

Ryu breathed deeply as fatigue washed over him as he docked with the Archangel and left his machine. Looking over to the Strike he saw Murdoch wave him over concern written all over his face "The kid won't come out, she's in battle shock, and Mu said it would be best to handle it."

Nodding his understanding Ryu enter the cockpit where Kira was staring unseeingly straight ahead as she gripped the controls tightly shaking like a leaf in a breeze. Kneeling in front of Kira, Ryu spoke in soothing tones as he eased her out of the cockpit with everyone keeping a respectful distance as he guided her first to the change room to help her get out of the flight suit and into her regular uniform, he than guided her to their room still speaking soothingly gently rubbing her back. Entering their room he quickly closed and locked the door before guiding her to the bed and sat her down on his lap embracing her gently "It's alright Kira let it out I'm here, and I will always be here for you so let it out."

That broke the gates holding Kira's tears back as she clutched to Ryu like a lifeline crying her heart out about everything that has happened to her so far, losing her home and being forced to fight her friend, her worry about her parents, and her fear of losing her friends, being captured and losing Ryu. They remained like that for a long time until Kira had cried herself out "Don't leave me Ryu." She whimpered.

"I would never dream of leaving you Kira, never," Ryu said. Kira smiled. "Thank you." She said. "But…did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" he asked.

"When you said…you loved me?" she asked for confirmation.

Ryu blinked as he went back through his memories. Yes, he had said that…he didn't know he said it on an open channel though.

"Yes…I do." He admitted. "I wanted to tell you sooner…but I didn't want to pressure you into-" he was cut off, as Kira's lips smashed with his, and he hesitated for only a second before returning the kiss.

When they parted for air, they were both grinning wildly. "I love you too, Ryu." Kira said; her eyes starting to droop as sleep overcame her.

Ryu smiled as she snuggled into his chest feeling safe "Thank you Kira." he replied as she allowed sleep to claim her "I don't think you will ever realize how much I owe you."


	6. Chapter 5: Fall of Artemis

Zar watched as the remaining enemy mobile suits, along with Rau La Creuset's withdrew. And the _Archangel _moved towards Artemis. Sayla whistled. "Very interesting," She said, watching the ship. "They survived."

"Perhaps it was luck?" Dren asked. Zar shook his head. "No." he said. "There are factors that occurred here. First off was of course when the _Archangel _did what Rau least expected and went on the offensive rather than a diversion. Second, and of course most formal is the Dragon's roar in battle…"

He remembered when he first heard that roar, the one time he actually felt fear. _Never again. _He thought, recollecting his thought.

"And also, a smaller factor I noticed." He continued. "What, sir?" Dren asked. "The White-and-blue Mobile suit, along with the Black one as well." Zar said. "Hero and Warrior, I believe they are called. For some reason, they both fought just as much, and hard any of the other suits, yet…their power never drained from this special armor they use called Phase Shift. This worries me slightly."

"Could they possibly be nuclear powered sir?" Dren asked, in fear. Many in Zaft know if the E.A regains its ability to use Nuclear weapons, then the war was pretty much over and done with…with the extermination of the PLANT colonies. "No." Sayla said. "The E.A has not been able to create such devices yet. And we haven't even fully developed our own N-Jammer cancellers yet. Most likely they just have a new power source for it."

"Using what?" Dren asked. "That I do not know yet." Zar said. "But I intend to find out. Tell the team to mount up. We are moving to assist Rau La Creuset's team now."

"Yes sir." Dren said. Zar then straightened in his chair. _That fighting style…_he thought as he overviewed the Hero and Warrior's fights with the Monster, and the one with the Ghost and Shadow. _It's so familiar…no…no it couldn't be him._

_Vesalius, Bridge_

"That could have gone better." Rau admitted after the debriefing "I nearly had a heart attack when I heard that roar again."

"What _was_ that sir?" Yuuka asked "The minute he heard his was friend in danger he just went crazy or something."

"We are not really certain what it was," Naleen admitted "It first happened at Endymion when his Squad Commander kamikazed our flagship to remove the prototype jammer we had installed, around a third of our losses at Endymion could be traced to him."

"Holy shit," Dearka's jaw dropped "but if he could have killed us so easily than why didn't he?"

"A good question," Jacques admitted with a sigh "I believe that he is sick of killing, and would avoid it if possible, but is still willing to do so if put in a corner."

"Well, on the bright side, I figured out why Matthew joined the Enemy." Johann said. Everyone turned to face him as Kane glared at him. And Nena glared at Kane.

"Oh, why did he then?" Rau asked, intrigued.

"Family, Commander." Johann said. "Apparently during the Raid, Kane here mercilessly killed Matthew's Mother and Father as they tried to defend three of the G-Weapons."

The eyes of Le Crueset team widened, and darted towards the Monster Pilot. He just shrugged. "They were armed, and I retaliated." He said simply.

"True." Nena said. "But I don't think that going out of your way to kill Matthew's little Brother afterwards who actually witness you kill his Mother was thinking that at the moment."

The Jaw's of Yuuka, Dearka, Yzak, Nicole, Athrun and even Lev dropped. "Matthew's Brother?" Yuuka asked amazed.

Nena and Johann nodded. "Apparently, Jordan, his Brother, was at the Factory trying to find shelter from our attack. He then stumbled across the fire fight between Kane and his Parents. Kane killed them, and was going to Kill Jordan if Matthew hadn't intervened."

They eyes off all of the Le Crueset team glared at Kane, none more so than Nicole and Athrun. "You…Bastard." Nicole muttered. "How could you do that!"

"His brother was shooting at me!" Kane said. "What do you think I should have done? Let him shoot me? Besides…" he smirked. "This just shows where his loyalties lie. He'd rather fight for his family and those pathetic naturals rather than his own spec-" he was cut off as Yzak gave Kane a righ-hook punch in the face, sending him to the deck shocking his teammates, even Rau was a little surprised. "SHUT UP!" Yzak shouted. "That is _no _excuse to kill them! When you start killing Civilians, you become just as bad as the very people who committed the bloody Valentine!"

"So what?" Kane asked, shocking the others yet again as he got back to his feet. "Sometimes you gotta dirty your hand to get the job done." He smirked evilly. "That's exactly what I did." He said. "I got the job done."

This time, Lev had to restrain Yzak from kicking the ever-loving crap out of Kane. "Yzak, calm down!" he said. "I know you hate him, we all do. But beating him senseless will not make things better. Beside…leave that to Matthew and Jordan." Yzak still wanted a piece of him, but sighed. "Fine, whatever." He said.

"And what of the council summons sir?" Athrun asked curious.

"The _Hades_ is in route with the third fleet, Athrun, Kane, you two will be coming with me to make our report and to get the Aegis and Monster repaired after the Dynasty tore through the Aegis, and how the monster lost its arm." Rau explained "The rest of you will be transferring to the Hades and will be put under the command of Commander Mark Cadillac, and Commander Zar Hellfury, they also has your custom DEEP CGUE's from the homeland Naleen, Jacques, So you all better get ready to transfer over, there isn't anything we can do about the Archangel right now as they are now in Artimis Space."

"Yes sir." They coursed as they saluted.

OoOoOo

"Well, I think it's time we called Artemis and requested permission to enter. Mr. Buskirk?" Murrue said.

"Hailing now, Ma'am" Kuzzey replied.

Murrue sighed in relief as the Archangel floated just outside of the Artimis base "Thank god for Jordan's plan," she breathed "Because that could have gone worse then what happened."

Jordan's plan was to launch their decoy missile in the direction of Artimis base as the Archangel stayed put in the debris field and waited for the ZAFT ship to pursue it and when that happened they attacked them forcing them to retreat. His reasoning for that was that if they could get the first strike in then they could hopefully damage one of their suits enough where they would have to call off the pursuit for repairs.

"You can say that again," Mu agreed as he rubbed his eyes "Any word from Ryu on Kira?"

"She's fine now, eating in the cafeteria with the others." Ryu answered as he stepped into the bridge "Still a little shaken but nothing that will be with her forever."

"Good to hear," Murrue said honestly.

"Also, we've made some precautions on the G-Weapons." Ryu said. "If anyone besides us pilots tries to access them, they _will _self-detonate. I don't trust Garcia very much, so it's best if we play it safe."

"Clearance granted from Artemis, Ma'am" Kuzzey said, "We can enter the Umbrella, and they'll be sending an inspector aboard to confirm who we really are."

"Mu, Natarle, and I will be disembarking when we finish docking, so you'll be in command until we get back." Murrue said indicating Ryu.

"Understood ma'am." Ryu answered saluting before he left the bridge again and made his way to the cafeteria to get some food himself.

_Meanwhile_

"Wow…" muttered Flay as the _Archangel_ backed into Artemis, moving through the deactivated section of the umbrella.

"It's a Lightwave barrier, known as the Umbrella of Artemis," explained Sai. The two were standing at the back observation deck, after Flay had recovered from her fear of the battle, and Sai had recovered from Flay's earlier anger at him for leaving her alone like that.

"They say it even blocks laser beams," continued Sai. "Heh, it's the ultimate defensive weapon."

"I'm so relieved," said Flay, smiling. "We can finally feel safe. Wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah," said Sai, matching her smile.

_Meanwhile_

_Oh great_, thought Murrue, Natarle, and Mu all at once as they were locked into place and the _Archangel_ was surrounded by Moebius mobile armors and armed soldiers.

"Captain?" said Natarle.

"What's going on there?" asked Tolle. Murrue turned to the inspection officer from Artemis.

"Well, commander?" she asked.

"I must advise you, captain, remain silent," said the officer.

"I was afraid of this…" said Mu under his breath. Then, he smirked slightly behind his hand. _Ah well. They won't get the G-Weapons… thank god Ryu thought of this before-hand. _

_Meanwhile_

_Mess Hall_

Upon entering Ryu smiled at the sight of Kira laughing at some joke that Tolle made and quickly gathered up his food and sat down next to Kira giving her a quick peck "Feeling better?"

"Much thank you." Kira answered honestly smiling at Ryu, her night's sleep doing wonders "And thank you for coming when you did."

"Hey I promised didn't I?" Ryu asked with a big grin on his face as he tore into a piece of bread.

At that Moment, the Takeo Brothers entered the mess hall as well as they got their own meals. "So Jordan," Matthew said to his younger sibling as they sat down. "So how was your first real battle?"

Jordan took a bite out of his bread before answering. "Well, to be honest it's kinda hard to explain." He admitted.

"How's that?" Ryu asked, interested into how Jordan felt in his first fight.

"Well," He said. "When I first fought back at Heliopolis, I pretty much had no idea what I was really doing, and I admit, I was pretty damn scared. The second time when we tried to save Heliopolis I wasn't as afraid, but still scared. But I was driven to protect our home. The last time…I don't know…It was like all of my fears were replaced by something else. Like that I wanted to fight. That I was actually enjoying the battle with the pilots of the Shadow and Ghost a little."

Ryu smiled. "That's a good thing, Jordan." He said. "You're actually coming close to using battle lust."

"Battle lust?" Jordan asked. "Isn't that when a fighter only cares about fighting, and killing?"

"No, no. That's Blood lust." Ryu reassured. "Battle lust is when you are at a state of mind when you only care about defeating your opponent, and just that opponent. You can see your battle more clearly, almost as if you could predict you opponent's moves. The bad thing about it is that since you entirely focused on that battle, you hardly notice anything around you. So if you find battle lust knocking on your door, make sure only to use if when you think anyone around you don't need your help. Otherwise you can find yourself in deep trouble."

Jordan nodded as he bit down into a sandwich. "I'll keep that in mind at the next battle." He said.

Just after Ryu finished up his meal a squad of soldiers busted into the room their guns at the ready "What the Fuck is going on!" Ryu roared standing up as a base Lieutenant walked in.

"Due to the fact that your ship is not in our base registry I'm afraid I must place you all under arrest," The Lieutenant said in an oily voice "So please remain calm and sit back down as we will be bringing everyone aboard this ship to this location."

Growling Ryu sat back down as he eyed each of the soldiers "Should've known something like this would've happened," he whispered "Garcia was always a snake."

The same was happening on the bridge, in the hangar, and everywhere else throughout the ship, as armed Eurasian soldiers took the entire crew—and the passengers—into custody.

"What are you doing?" demanded Murrue.

"Lieutenant Commander Biddulph," said Natarle. "I request an explanation for these actions. I assure you, we…"

"I'm only locking down the ship's controls and fire controls as part of our standard security measures," said Biddulph, interrupting her.

"Locking down? But there's no need for you…" started Natarle, but shoulder aimed a gun at her.

"Your vessel isn't recorded in the ship register," continued Biddulph. "Naturally we have no identification code for it. Given the circumstances, we permitted you entrance to our port. Unfortunately, it hasn't yet been determined if we recognized you as friendly."

"But that doesn't…" Natarle began to object.

"This is a military facility," said Biddulph. "At the very least, I'd appreciate it if you kept that in mind."

_Something else is up_, thought Murrue, gritting her teeth. _Ryu was right after all…_

"Now, I would like the officers to brief us on the current situation," said Biddulph. "You shall accompany me."

_Hades, Hanger._

"Welcome aboard," A ZAFT red coat with shoulder length brown hair that had a single white bane running through it and had ice-blue eyes with a green trim, while he stood with the ease and grace of a veteran that was supplemented by his martial artist build "I'm Mark Cadillac Second in command of the Hades. This is Zar Hellfury and we are in charge of this mission."

"It's good to you again Mark, how've you been!" Naleen greeted cheerfully as Jacques nodded his head in agreement "Maybe now we can actually stand a chance against Ryu now."

Mark chuckled softly "Maybe, your suits are over there," he said gesturing to a black and gold colored pair of CGUE DEEP arms with Naleen's Golden one having a prototype beam sniper rifle stored onboard and Jacques having an extra heavy laser sword "Go ahead and familiarize yourselves with them," Turning to the other red coats Zar pointed to Nicol "Your Nicol right? The pilot of the Blitz?"

"Yes sir." Nicol confirmed snapping a salute as Zar nodded slowly looking up at the Blitz.

"The Blitz, Shadow, and Ghost are equipped with experimental stealth systems right?"

"Yes sir." Nicole said, and Johann and Nena nodded.

"Humph, a cowards weapon if you ask me." Yzak snorted in contempt.

A sudden smack resounded through the hanger as Mark backhanded Yzak with a snarl on his face "You moron," Mark snarled eyeing Yzak in contempt "You don't realize that your so called 'cowards weapon' can save a lot of lives in infiltration teams allowing them to gather better information before the main attack saving the lives of countless soldiers, not to mention speaking like that to your own comrade in arms, do you really expect someone to watch your back in a battle with an attitude like that? Keep that up while you're under my command and I'll not only take you off the Duel but bust you down to green coat and make sure you receive the crappiest post _ever_ and your mother's influence will be of _no_ help, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR SOLDIER!"

"Y-yes sir!" Yzak responded quickly as he saluted afraid of the sudden increase of pressure emanating from the red coated commander.

"You sure you can't you that Killing Intent from that Japanese anime Naruto Mark?" Zar asked sarcastically. "Cause I could _feel_ the temperature drop." Mark grinned sheepishly. "Sorry…but sometimes I wish I could though." He said. "Now Nicol, how long does this Mirage Colloid of yours last?" he asked a plan forming in his mind.

OoOoOo

"Eurasia is supposed to be an ally," said Sai, looking at Jordan. "Don't they have good relations with the Atlantic Federation?"

"I don't think that's the issue here," Jordan said. Kira sighed. "The problem is we have no identification code," she said. "Is it that big of a deal to these guys?" asked Tolle. "Apparently it is," said Amy, her annoyance obvious in her tone and expression. "If you ask me," said Murdoch, looking at me. "That's just an excuse. There's something else going on here."

"Man, can you believe this?" muttered one of the refugees, seeming almost to talk to himself. "What is it with these guys?"

"Good question," said Sai, also seeming mostly to mutter to himself. The refugee glanced over at him, and then blinked in surprise.

"Wait a second…" he said as the new arrivals sat down. "Darknal?"

Sai glanced over, along with Ryu, Flay, Kira, and the other students from the Heliopolis Technical College.

"Nice to see you guys too." 'Darknal' said. He seemed to be of Scottish decent, obvious from his Scottish accent. He was 5'8, with shoulder-length brown hair, Purple eyes, and was wearing a tan green undershirt, a pair of blue jeans, with boots, and a fur trench coat (**AN: Whatever Lockon Wears in 00 Season 1**) "Man, this is weird. Seeing the lot of you in Earth Forces uniforms…"

"Say, why didn't we run into you earlier?" Jordan asked. "I didn't see you when the Refugee's arrived." Darknal just shrugged. "I dunno." He said. "Well, it's still great to see ya here alive and well."

"Jordan, you know this guy?" Matthew asked.

"Ya, Matt, Meet Christopher Thake, or we call him Darknal." Jordan said. "Darknal, meet my older brother Matthew." Darknal blinked in surprise. "Didn't you say he…died?"

"I thought he died." Jordan said. "He joined Zaft a few months prior to Junius 7. He couldn't contact me about him surviving, that's why."

Darknal smiled and nodded. "Well, it's good to see you have your whole family back." he said, but he then noticed Jordan look to the ground with a sadden look. "What did I say?" he asked.

"Not all of my family…" Jordan muttered.

"Our parents were killed in the attack." Matthew answered, shocking Darknal. "Killed by my Monster of a former-team mate Kane Hellfury. If I wasn't with me, Jordan would probably be killed too."

"So you defected from Zaft to protect your Brother?" Darknal asked, and Matthew nodded. Darknal just smiled. "Hey, I'd probably do the same thing if I were in your boots." He said. "Family over duty is what my family use to say. But still…" he looked around the ship. "What the hell is with Eurasia today?"

"I think I know what." Ryu said as Murdock stared at him. "What?" he asked. "The Gundams." Jordan said. "The what?" Darknal asked, scratching his head. "The G-Weapons." Matthew said. "Those mobile suits in the Hanger." Darknal then nodded. "It would make sense." He said. Chris sighed, stepping over into a corner.

"Figures." Ryu said, defiantly ticked off. "I should have known that bastard didn't change in three years."

"Ok, what happened?" Jordan asked. "What happened between you and this Garcia guy?"

Ryu paused for a moment. "About a year before Endymion…" he said "I and the rest of Falcon squadron were stationed on the Earth Alliance Ship _New Jersey, _Garcia was the captain at the time." He took a deep breath. "One day, he asked our captain, Yuna Falcon to see him in his quarters…" he trailed off after that "And he…" he simply could say it, but we all got the picture "Bastard." Matthew muttered. "How could he of even reached rear admiral rank?"

"Believe me kid, I ask myself that even today." Ryu said, trying to calm down. "The guy even tried to steal my own Custom CGUE, but he didn't know about the self destruct feature I added in." He chuckled "Never seen him so mad in my life. But it took me months to get a replacement suit though."

_Meanwhile_

A short while later, after the _Archangel_ Officers had been escorted to their room, Natarle privately let her companions know her opinion.

"Sure the ship may be unregistered," she said. "But this kind of treatment is inexcusable." Military protocol was so heavily coded into Natarle's psyche that the thought of ambitious soldiers acting against protocol to further their own goals was almost entirely foreign to her.

"There isn't much we can do," said Mu. "Right now, those guys would much prefer we didn't return to the ship. But there's something that concerns me even more." Mu looked down at the ground in thought. "The fact these soldiers here on Artemis have this unquestioning faith that their secure against any enemy assault."

"No base cannot be taken," said Murrue in agreement. "And no defense is perfect or absolute."

_Meanwhile_

During this, Jordan was attempting to plan an escape. He knew it's probably impossible at this point, but…he had an idea.

Jordan had to look through the schematics of the Gundam's that Zaft captured. He got a hunch that they were not just gonna wait for them to get out of Artemis, so he need to see what they could do.

That's when he saw the Blitz's features, and he smiled.

"Bingo," Jordan said quietly, drawing the attention of the others. "Chief Neumann?"

"Yes?" asked the blue-haired ship pilot.

"The Umbrella shield, it's only active when enemies are within the defense perimeter, right?" He asked.

"Yeah…" said Neumann, not knowing where he was going with this. Everyone else was curious as well.

"Is that perimeter… greater than the operational range of the Blitz with Mirage Colloid deployed?" Jordan asked. The eyes of the _Archangel_ crew widened in horror, and most internally swore. Amy, Hikari, Darknal, Chris, Liz, Kira, and the others were left blinking in confusion. Though Matt who had used Mirage colloid grinned.

"Mirage Colloid?" asked Chris.

"An active cloak, rendering it invisible to all forms of detection," Jordan said. "An absolute stealth system. The ZAFT soldiers are anything but stupid—they may not have had time to learn the full capabilities of the Blitz in the last battle, but they know about the Mirage Colloid by now. Hell, Matthew's used the Warrior's Mirage Colloid twice now. It's actually a pretty good system…but the downside is that Phase shift has to be shut off, making projectile weapons lethal."

"Which means they're coming for us any minute now," said Murdoch. "Damn… we need to get you to your mobile suits."

Then Ryu started the chuckle. "What's so funny?" Amy asked. "This isn't a real good situation we're in right now."

"But it is." Jordan said. "The soldiers here at Artemis are inexperienced, and are so confident that their precious shield will protect them from anything. But when the Blitz arrives, its first target will obviously be Artemis's Umbrella shield generator. With Artemis's only real defense gone, the soldiers here will be in chaos."

He then smirked. "It would be the perfect time for us to get into our suits in all of the confusion." Now Chris smiled. "I love it when a plan comes together." he said.

Suddenly a large bald man walked in with a commander insignia with another Lieutenant following him "I am the base Commander Garcia," the large man announced in an obviously false pleasant voice "All I want are the pilots for the mobile weapons in the hanger." No said a word as his eyes swept the room and stopped on a scared Flay "You know, the captain of this vessel is a female, so it could very well be that one of the pilots is a female as well." He suddenly grabbed Flay's arm and roughly dragged her up causing her to cry out. Ryu gripped Sai's shoulder preventing him from doing something stupid while Liz held held Chris in place oddly enough.

"That's enough Garcia," Ryu called out standing up calling all attention to him "I honestly can't believe that you think that the daughter of EA's vice foreign Minister is a mobile _suit_ pilot."

Garcia whirled around and looked at Ryu in surprise as he slowly walked in front of a nervous Garcia "So you were alive after all." Garcia snarled in contempt as he eyed the coordinator in obvious dislike.

"I've missed you too." Ryu said sarcastically "So what is it you want?"

"My guess is you're the pilot of the Dynasty?" Garcia speculated to which Ryu curtly nodded.

"La Flagga piloted the Strike as Ensign Badgiruel piloted the Raven, Ensign Neumann piloted the Raptor, and Murdock piloted the Thunder-"

"And I and my Brother piloted the Hero and Warrior." Jordan said, standing up along with Matthew.

Ryu gave Jordan and Matthew a look that said _you should have stayed down. _But Jordan looked back and him with a face saying. _You were running out of people to lie about anyways._ "We're both Coordinators, like Ryu." Ryu just accepted it. "Happy? Now leave the civilians alone."

Garcia snorted at Ryu "Do you honestly believe that I would believe a traitor such as yourself," Garcia sneered as he eyed the area that Ryu was sitting in.

But then he stared at Jordan and Matthew, and raised an eyebrow. "Thought I do believe these two is the Hero and Warrior pilots." He said, smirking as he walked towards the two. "What are your names?" he asked. "Jordan and Matthew Takeo." Matt said. Garcia chuckled. "I should have guessed." He said. "You both look to damn much like your Father."

A jolt ran up our spines. '_What?' _Jordan thought. "How do you know our Father?" Jordan asked, in a slightly demanding tone. The admiral shook his head. "That would be a story for another time." He said, smirking. "Perhaps the real other pilots would come forward with a little, _persuasion, though_"

With that the guard closest to Ryu slammed the butt of his rifle into Ryu's gut. Ryu just gave a small grunt as he eyed stared at Garcia while Murdoch firmly held Kira in place "Did a fly run into me?" Ryu asked as if discussing the weather as he grinned. _That's Ryu for ya. _Jordan thought.

Garcia growled at Ryu as he nodded to the guard who smashed the back of his skull causing him to cry out and fall to his knee "Ryu!" Kira shouted in fear.

Garcia raised an eyebrow when he heard Kira's shout and signaled a guard who shoved Murdoch and grabbed Kira roughly making her hiss in pain "Well what do we have here?" Garcia drawled smirking as Ryu narrowed his eyes "What is such a pretty young thing doing on this ship?"

Ryu gave off a low growl as he stood up and eyed Garcia darkly "Watch it Garcia," he warned darkly "Or you could lose something precious to you."

Garcia only smiled sickly at Ryu "So she's close to you than?" he questioned as he twisted her arm making her cry out. _Dude, you just did the STUPIDEST thing in your LIFE. _Jordan thought.

Suddenly Ryu was in front of Garcia with his fist pulled back and punched him full in the face forcing him to drop Kira as he staggered back in pain while guards all pointed their rifles at Ryu who kept his eyes on Garcia as he righted himself "Don't kill him, yet," Garcia ordered "Knowing him if anyone but him tried to unlock the Dynasty it would self-destruct like before."

"Learned from the last time have you?" Ryu asked rhetorically as the guards surrounded him and bound his wrists "That surprises me really, 'cause that would imply you have a brain." Garcia snarled as a guard smashed Ryu's gut causing Ryu to bend slightly and let out a grunt "What? Afraid to get close to little old me?" Ryu mocked with a sick grin that surprised his friends.

Growling Garcia stepped up to Ryu and backhanded him across the face, Ryu's only reaction was to tilt his head and smile at Garcia "Is there a breeze in the room? Or was that it?" Growling again Garcia gave a full blow to Ryu's nose breaking it and causing Kira to scream out in horror and fear at seeing him collapse. "I'll admit, that was a good one." Ryu commended as he stood back up with a slight sway "I guess your bulk is good for something other than scaring away the ladies."

Everyone just watched in awe as Ryu continued to mock Garcia as the blows rained down on him.

_Meanwhile_

_Artemis_

"Regular patrol sweep," announced one of the Artemis control officers. "No sign of enemies within defensive perimeter."

"Okay, it's fine now," said the officer in charge. "Switch Lightwave barrier facilities to level two alert status."

Outside the defense perimeter, the _Hades_ detected the closing of the umbrella, and opened the catapult for the Blitz, Shadow and Ghost. Nicol, Johann and Nena launched their machines immediately, and as they did so, they activated the Mirage Colloid. From the _Hades_'s point of view, the three suits suddenly vanished into nothingness. "Mirage Colloid formation looks good," the green-haired pilot said to himself. "Dispersion loss rate: thirty-seven percent. Its usage is limited to a maximum of eighty minutes." That in mind, Nicol burned the Blitz at the maximum safe speed for Artemis, followed by the Shadow and Ghost.

"Nena, you use your unit's jammer system to block their sensors for when the Calvary arrive." Nicole said. "Johann, you wait outside in stealth and shoot anything that leaves."

"_Got it Nick._" Nena said.

"_Roger, moving into sniping position._" Johann said.

_Archangel, Cafeteria._

Back at the Archangel Ryu definitely looked liked he had been through the grinder with a broken nose a multiple bruises on his body and his uniform ripped in a couple of places while the others looked on in horror, the only thing keeping Kira back was Neumann holding her back. Garcia grinned sickly as he watched Ryu stagger back up onto his feet "I'll ask you again, who are the pilots for the other machines." Garcia asked as Ryu shook his head clear.

"Barney the Dinosaur, the yellow tellietubby, Numa-Numa boy, and Leroy Jenkins." Ryu answered giving off a small chuckle "Didn't you hear his battle shout?"

Garcia snarled and raised his fist to to strike Ryu again, only for it to suddenly stop. He was then suddenly in the air and the wind knocked out of him. He fell to the ground to see Jordan standing there, fist read from his recent punch. "Hit him again and I'll rip out your stomach and feed it too you." He said in a menacing voice. _I always wanted to say something like that. _He thought.

Then a pair of guards began to raise their rifles. "No!" Kira shouted "Please stop it, I'm the pilot for the Strike so please stop it." She pleaded desperately.

Garcia Snarled. "You expect me to believe that a mere child was piloting one of those mobile suits. Who are the real pilots, brat?"

Garcia then tried to punch Jordan in the face, or would have if Jordan wasn't a Coordinator. He sidestepped the blow, grabbed Garcia's wrist and threw the fat commander back to the ground. One of the soldiers grabbed Jordan, restraining him.

Garcia eyed Jordan. "Who are the other pilots?"

Jordan didn't say anything, but spit in his face. "Go to hell." He said. He noticed Ryu shake his head, knowing he inspired him to do this.

Garcia was about to punch him in the face when yet another hand stopped him. This time it was Chris.

"Stop this now!" he said. "I'm the Pilot of the Raven." This only made him madder. "I hate liars!" He said, attempting to punch Chris, but Flay stopped him. "Wait, their telling the truth!" she yelled. "They're coordinators!"

Looking at each other both Liz and Amy nodded and stood up as well "We're the pilots of the Raptor and the Thunder." Liz stated.

"There that wasn't so hard now was it?" Garcia asked snidely "Grab them and bring the girl as well, as... motivation to cooperate."

Two guards flanked the pilots, while the other two dragged Flay out of the cafeteria.

_Later_

"Quite the amazing series that the Alliance has made don't you agree?" Garcia said suddenly civil as he watched the techs continue their work "I have a proposition for you, work for me and help me develop new mobile weapons and I shall do everything in my power to give you your hearts desires."

"You want us to remove the lock on the OS's, right?" asked Kira

"For starters," said Garcia, smiling in a manner that reminded the seven Coordinators of a wolf staring down its next meal. "But I imagine you're capable of doing many other things."

"What do you mean?" asked Amy, now confused.

"For example," said Garcia, looking up at the Strike. "You could analyze this machine's design and build more like it. Or perhaps you could even come up with a weapon that's effective against this type of mobile suit."

"Look, we're nothing more than civilian students," Jordan said."We're not soldiers, and we're not some military contractors. There's no reason why we have to do _any_ of those things."

"But you're already traitors to your fellow Coordinators, are you not?" said Garcia, smiling.

"Us? Traitors?" Chris said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what your reasons were," said Garcia. "But regardless, you did betray your own people, and so by rights…"

"You're wrong!" said Kira. "We did it cause…"

"Being Coordinators siding with the Earth Forces makes you two very valuable," interrupted Garcia. "There's nothing to worry about, I assure you that someone like yourselves could be made welcome, even in Eurasia."

Jordan stepped forward, the guards pulled out there weapons. "Since when did we side with the E.A?" he said. "Like I said, we are all simply civilians from a Neutral nation. So are the other civilians. And Ryu here is a retired E.A ace so you have nothing on him either. We honestly don't have to do a damn thing you tell us to do because we don't report by your chain of command, because we don't belong in a military of any kind. And as for your Coordinator comment, this war is one between Zaft and the E.A as far as I care. As much as people think it's a war between Naturals and coordinators, I just think it's another bloody war between humanity bickering between one-another like the hundreds of times before. Coordinators or no coordinators. So again, your little _persuasion _their means nothing to us."

Garcia only sneered at Jordan "We are not looking to join anyone," Kira stated her eyes full of determination "We just want to go home."

The others nodded in agreement causing Garcia's scowl to deepen further "You will unlock those mobile suits or I will have you killed," he threatened "and I will start with this girl, and if that doesn't motivate you than I will start killing the civilians." The others gasped, but Jordan remained calm, while Ryu growled.

"Don't you know who my father is? He's Vice Foreign Minister George Allster of the Atlantic Federation. When he hears of this…" Garcia promptly slapped her.

"I know your father, young lady. Quite frankly, he's a fool. Perhaps when this is over, you can entertain my men. Women in the military are quite a rarity, they would enjoy your company" Garcia said in positively lecherous tone, "And now your friends will remove the lock on the G-Weapon's OS, from there we'll copy all the data on the machine and its weapons."

"Tell me Garcia…" Jordan said. "How long has it been since the Zaft ships left Artemis's sensor range?" Garcia raised an eyebrow. "Ten minutes ago, why?" he asked. "If you're looking for help you're your Coordinator buddies, if they approach this station, we'll just activate the shield again." Jordan looked like he was calculating something. Then he smiled.

"Your right." He said. "You'll activate the Umbrella as soon as you _do _detect enemy ships." He then staired deviously at Garcia. "But what if you _cant _detect the Blitz's, Shadow's, and Ghost's Mirage Colloid Stealth systems!" he shouted in triumph, and Garcia's eyes widened. "GET THE UMBRELLA UP AGAIN!" he shouted, and then suddenly, the base shook violently.

OoOoOoOoOo

Artemis, Exterior

Nicol let off a hoot of victory. His plan had gone like clockwork. The Umbrella had gone down once the _Hades_ had left the area, giving the Blitz a straight on shot at the base proper. His beam rifle spat out emerald death at the Umbrella generators then finished the job with a slash from his beam saber.

"The shield is down, and Nena's taking care of their sensors! Come on in, guys!" Nicol called to the Buster, Lightning, Grizzly, Duel, and the CGUE's.

"Acknowledged!" Mark said, "Let's do it boys and girls!"

_Meanwhile_

"What was that?" Garcia yelled. "Sir, we are under attack!" A voice yelled. "A mobile suit just appeared from out of nowhere, and destroyed the Umbrella system! And our sensors are being jammed!"

"Thank you Nicole!" Matthew yelled as he punched the guard holding Flay square in the face, while the others took down the other guards.

Ryu grinned and quickly leapt and shoulder tackled the guard in front of him while jerking the gun out of the guard's hands. Turning he quickly fired off a couple of shots at the remaining guards killing them before he spied Garcia hauling his fat ass out of the Hanger. Meanwhile the others managed to secure their mobile suits and were moving them to launch to defend the Archangel. Reaching back into the cockpit Ryu pulled out his Mp5 that was in a secured compartment along with radio headset and quickly slipped it on and tuned to the Mobile suits Radio frequency "I want the six of you to launch," he ordered quickly as he clambered down the elevator "I'm going after Garcia."

"_Will you be alright?_" Kira asked in concern "_You did take some bad hits._"

"I'll be fine Kira," Ryu assured as he face the Strike with a grin on his bruised face and waved her on "Go, I need to settle things with tub o' lard."

A small chuckle came over the radio "_Be safe Ryu._" She said with a slightly stern voice.

Ryu saluted the Strike "Aye aye." The Strike, Raven, Thunder, and Raptor launched, But Jordan and Matthew stayed with Ryu. "What are you waiting for?" Ryu asked. "We want answers." Matthew said. "We want to know what Garcia knows about our father, and how he knows him."

"What if he's lying?" Ryu asked. Jordan smirked. "Then I'll kick him for such a terrible lie." He said. Ryu nodded. Running through the corridors of the Artemis base Ryu smirked as he heard Garcia stutter off some commands to a group of soldiers. Slipping into the shadows he grinned as he saw Garcia panicking as he desperately made his way to the Shuttle nearby "Oh Garcia!" Ryu sang as he stepped out of the shadows with his Mp5 and stolen assault rifle in hand and pointing at Garcia's two guards. Turning Garcia's eyes widened in fear and shock at Ryu as he stumbled and fell "You two can leave if you wish," Ryu said calmly as he kept his eyes on Garcia "The only person I have an issue with is Garcia."

Looking at each other the two guards quickly made a break for the nearest shuttle. "Just you and me Garcia," Ryu growled as he stepped forward "Any last requests? Like Sebastian, I'm in a giving mood so I just might grant it." Jordan then stepped up to Ryu. "_Hey Ryu_" he whispered. "_Wanna screw with him?_" He then explained what He wanted to do, and to Garcia's dismay, Ryu smiled. "Let him have it." He said, as Jordan stepped forward arming his machine gun he picked up off of one of the dead guards.

"What country you from?" Jordan asked. "What?" Garcia replied. "What ain't no country I've ever heard of!" He shouted. "They speak English in what?"

"What?"

"ENGLISH MOTHER FUCKER DO YOU SPEAK IT!"

"Yes!-y-Yes I speak it!" Garcia stuttered, both Matthew and Ryu grinning. _You watched that movie _way _too much Jordan. _Matthew thought.

"Good," Jordan said. "Now, what does my father look like?"

"What?" Garcia said again. "SAY WHAT AGAIN!" Jordan shouted pointing my gun at his head. "Say what again mother Fucker I dare you, I double dare you mother Fucker! Say what one more god damn time!"

"He…he's tall…" Garcia stuttered. "And…brown hair…"

"Does he look like a bitch?" Jordan asked.

"What?" Garcia asked and he shot off his left Kneecap, and he whaled in pain. "DOES. HE. LOOK. LIKE A BITCH?"

"No!" Garcia yelled in pain. Jordan nodded. "Ok, so far he's telling the truth." he said to Ryu who was suppressing the urge to laugh and Matthew was just shaking his head. "I can't believe mom let you watch that movie." He muttered.

"Who ever said she knew I did?" Jordan replied, smiling.

"Now to get serious," He then walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. "How the hell do you know our father?" Jordan said in a more serious tone. Garcia snarled. "Why should I tell you?" he said. Jordan fired a shot that missed his manhood by mere inches.

"Unless you wanna loose that, tell us." He shouted. Garcia, now more cooperating, talked.

"Your father…" he said. "Was a mobile suit Pilot for the E.A. possibly the only Natural pilot who could fly at a coordinator level. The damn fool was just like Ryu over there, with is Self-preserving rules of engagement, and your apparent views on Natural and coordinator unity."

Jordan stared at him. "You're lying." he said. "Our father was a worker at Morgenroete who died just a day ago by a Zaft pilot."

Garcia snickered. "Impossible." He said. "If that were true, then why was his last known position with the 8th fleet just a few months old?" Jordan's, and his Brother's eyes widened. "That's impossible." Jordan said. "Our Father had been living with me and my mother at Heliopolis for almost a year now! He never even left the Colony!"

"Then why don't you go and ask him yourself?" Garcia said. "He should still be there if I'm right. And if you're right, he won't." Jordan glared at Garcia for a few seconds, and tossed him to the ground. "He's all yours." Jordan said, and he and his brother moved for their suits.

"Don't you think the 'does he look like a bitch' thing was a little overkill?" Matthew asked as we entered the Hanger.

"Matt, what do _you _think Ryu's gonna do with him now that we're gone?" Jordan asked, Matthew stopped for a moment, and nodded. "Point." He said as they entered their respected mobile suits. When they started up, Matthew appeared on the screen. "But what about what he said?" He asked.

Jordan sighed. "We can't worry about that now." he said. "Right now, the ship and our friends are in danger. We gotta go _now._"

Matthew nodded and closed the connection. He was first to launch. "Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Let's cut 'em up!" and he then launched forward.

"Jordan Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Let's rock and roll!"

_Meanwhile, Back with Ryu and Garcia_

Garcia paled further and he tried to scramble away from the Dragon "P-p-please, h-h-have m-mercy." Garcia pleaded desperately on his knees.

That was the final straw for Ryu as the crystal exploded in his mind causing Garcia to whimper in fear when he saw Ryu's eyes change "Mercy?" Ryu questioned in a dark voice "Did you give mercy to Yuna when she pleaded for you _not_ to rape her? Did you give mercy to those who refused to cater to your sick desires?"

Garcia trembled as Ryu stalked forward his rage building to massive proportions "Would you have given mercy to the innocent civilians aboard the Archangel after you had gotten what you wanted." He asked, Garcia desperately nodded his head trying to avoid getting killed only to stop when a bullet whizzed past his ear "No you wouldn't have." Ryu growled "Be glad though, I won't kill you," Garcia breathed a sigh of relief only to pale further at Ryu's next words "I`ll just make sure you don`t hurt another person like you hurt Yuna." With that said Ryu took aim and fired right at the point that made Garcia a man and removed it with a single shot making Garcia howl in pain as Ryu began to walk away only for the Hanger exit to collapse from an explosion.

Looking about quickly Ryu quickly spotted a mobile suit with a Gunbarrel pack on the back and quickly jumped in and made adjustments to the OS so that he could pilot it properly, though he did make sure to save the original OS for later analysis _'So this is the CAT series I've been hearing Rumors about,_' Ryu quickly realized _'CAT-XG Hyperion G7… How did Garcia get his hands on this?'_ Pushing away that line of thought Ryu quickly tore out of the hanger hoping that he could make it to the Archangel.

_Meanwhile _

In the mess hall, Arnold saw the opportunity, and approached the Eurasian soldiers.

"Why is the alarm going off?" he asked them.

"Well, uh, it's probably…" started one of them.

"You're not even sure?" interrupted Arnold as other crewmembers assembled around him. "Then don't you think you should go and ask? Whatever you might think, we're obviously under attack!" With that, Arnold pushed past them and began making his way to the bridge.

"Stop!" ordered the Eurasian soldier, leveling his rifle at Arnold's back with his companion, but Sai and several other bridge operators jumped out of the mess hall and pinned them to the ground.

"Sorry about that," said Chandra. "But you've given us no choice!"

As Arnold reached the bridge, he saw the Eurasian personnel leaving it, and outside the bridge, one could see the EVA Eurasian soldiers moving away from the ship. Arnold rushed to his station.

"Start up the engines," he ordered.

"What about the officers?" asked Pal as he and the rest of the crew took their stations as well.

"We're a sitting duck if we don't act quickly," said Arnold.

To the surprise of everyone present, the door opened suddenly, and Murrue, Mu, and Natarle rushed in.

"Heh, excellent work kids!" said Mu, putting a hand on Sai and Miriallia's heads, as Murrue and Natarle took their seats.

"What's with this fortress anyway?" asked Sai.

"We can't maneuver while we're in here," said Murrue, ignoring him. "Launch the _Archangel_ and ease out of port."

_Meanwhile_

Kira grunted as her suit collided with the inner wall of the base after a particularly nasty kick from the Blitz '_This is not good,_' she thought to herself '_My suit is definitely better at close combat with the Sword Striker unit, but I lose maneuverability, the Blitz however is well versed in _all_ types of combat focusing on maneuverability._' Ducking a slash from the beam saber of the Trikeros shield unit and countered by swinging her massive Anti-ship sword at the waist of the Blitz only form him to dance out of the way. '_Not to mention that my sword is bulky and large, good for ships, but not so good for Mobile Suits._' Sighing she quickly dodged several shots from the Blitz and threw her beam boomerang and followed up with her rocket anchor. This Blitz easily dodged the boomerang but got caught off guard when the Rocket anchor Latched onto his Trikeros and dragged him towards the Strike as it prepared to swing its massive sword.

Quickly thinking Nicol Detached the shield and backed out of the way of the sword. "_Damn,_" a soft voice came over the radio surprising Kira "_You win this round Strike._"

Kira smirked as the Blitz saluted and started moving away avoiding the raging battle between the Raven, Thunder, Raptor, Hero, and Warrior against the station defenders "You almost had me." Kira admitted as she flew off attaching the Trikeros to the Strike as a badge of honor and started cutting through the station defenders leaving a slightly shocked Nicol about how young the pilot sounded before shaking his head and left the battlefield.

_Meanwhile_

Ryu groaned as he spotted three mobile suits approaching the Hanger, two CGUE DEEP arms, one gold and one black, and the last one was a familiar Green-red custom CGUE "Well, well," he drawled catching the attention of the three mobile suits "Look who it is, Mark Cadillac, the Samurai of Junius Seven. It's been awhile, ZAFT finally decide that Creuset wasn't good enough for me?"

"_Something like that,_" Mark chuckled as he drew out his custom Katana "_where is the G-weapon you where piloting?_"

"Ahh thought I'd give those two a handicap for this battle." Ryu joked with a small grin "So, how shall we do this?"

"_Jacques, Naleen continue the mission,_" Mark ordered as he and Ryu began to circle each other with Ryu drawing out his beam saber "_I'll deal with the Dragon._"

"_Yes sir._" Naleen confirmed as both she and Jacques boosted towards the Artemis base hanger.

"Let's go!" Ryu shouted in challenge as he slammed his Beam Knife against Mark's katana both of them grinning widely as they continued to exchange blows only for the other to dodge or block the shot. Separating the two brought up their respective long range weapons and exchanged fire with each other never landing anything outside of a glancing blow. Grinning Ryu activated the Wired Gunbarrels on his suit and started opening fire on Mark with both his Gunbarrels and his machinegun forcing Mark to do nothing but evade as Ryu rained the blows upon him.

Suddenly switching Tactics Ryu switched his Rifle to his shield hand and drew out his Beam knife with his remaining hand and recalled the Gunbarrels and clashed swords with the Green CGUE once more only for Ryu to aim his rifle at the CGUE's head forcing Mark to break off the power struggle or be crippled "_I see your skills haven't dulled that much Ryu._" Mark commented as they started circling once more.

Ryu chuckled "Since when does a soldiers skills truly dull?" Ryu mused with a smirk "After all when you have something you wish to protect..."

"_That is when you find true strength!_" Mark finished with a grin as he clashed swords once more with Ryu "_I still remember that day when we first fought._"

Ryu's laugh was full of mirth as he ducked under a slash and returned the favor with a kick to the CGUE's gut "I was the Idealistic Fool."

"_While I was the Insane Idiot._" Mark added with his own laugh as he recovered from the kick and fired his Shields vulcans at Ryu who also dodged as well "_I learned quite the lesson from you that day._"

They both laughed as they once again crashed their swords and Knives together enjoying the pure test of skill with each other.

_Meanwhile_

Johann had his Sniper Rifle out as he sniped Moebius after Moebius as they tried to run. He was quite surprised at the accuracy the Shadow had, and couldn't wait to try it out in a real stealth mission.

He then noticed a beam emitting from seemingly no-where. He reacted quickly, and drew a beam saber with his spare hand and caught the blade. "You know Matt; you could have used those Katana swords and sneak up on me." Johann said as the Warrior appeared.

"_Hey, I like Scythes._" He said as he pushed the Shadow Back. "_Don't judge me!_"

"So, where's your brother?" Johann asked as he put his sniper away in favor of holding two beam sabers.

"_Ah, inside somewhere,_" He said. "_Anyways, thanks._" Johann blinked as their machines clashed. "For what?" he asked.

"_Remember the Rumors of Garcia being a dick?_" Matt asked as his machine backed away.

"Ya…" Johann said.

"_They were true._" Matthew said. "_He tried to hold us hostage, and try to copy the tech of the Gundam's and the ship. He even threatened to kill the Civilians onboard._"

Johann sighed as he closed the distance between him and Matthew, once again beam meeting beam. "Naturals can be so _stupid _sometimes." He said.

"_True, but not all of them,_" Matthew said as he kicked the Shadow away. "_Anyways, my Brother taught him a little lesion about that…in the form of Pulp Fiction._"

Johann blinked once again. "That scene?" he asked.

"_That scene._" Matthew answered as they continued their duel "_Although something tells me what Ryu did to him was ever worse..._"

_Meanwhile_

Jordan cut clean through another guarding Moebius with his Exia Kai III. '_Hm…_' he thought. '_I wonder if I could duel-wield these Exia Kai's? That would be pretty interesting if I could!_'

"_I thought these guys were your allies?_" Came Nena Kojima's voice as the Ghost appeared next to him, beam pistol drawn.

Jordan reacted quickly, and drew his shield to deflect the rounds. "Not unless my allies like to hold Civilians Hostages to get me and the other Gundam Pilots to give them all of the data on the Gundams to that Fat-ass Garcia." He said as he fired a few shots from his Exia Kai in rifle mode, but the Ghost dodged.

"_So he really is that bad, hu?_" Nena asked as she hid behind a _Nelson-_class battleship that was already pretty much destroyed. "_Wait, Gundam?_"

"Oh, you haven't realized it yet?" Jordan asked as he took out his beam sabers and moved behind the Nelson. "General, Unilateral, Neuro-Link, Dispersive, Automatic, Maneuver, G.U.N.D.A.M."

Nena smirked a little. "That's rather cleaver." She said. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be single, would you?"

Jordan blinked in surprise, and he almost forgot to dodge as the Ghost fired its beam Pistol, but he moved just in time. "Wait…are you flirting with me?" he asked.

"_Maaaybee…_" Nena said, adding in a giggle at the end. "_So?_"

"I…Uh…kinda…" Jordan said, blushing as he continued fighting.

"_What do you mean, 'Kinda'?_" Nena demanded.

"Well…There is a girl I really do like," Jordan said. "But I haven't asked her out, or anything."

"_Ah!_" Nena said as she backed off a little. "_I get it! You have a Crush on this girl! Who is it?_"

Jordan blinked, and blushed. "Why are you interested in who I care about?" he demanded.

Nena shrugged. "Why not?" She asked. "We may be fighting, but it doesn't mean we can't be friends too, right?"

Jordan nodded. "True." He said. "But that's kinda of a Private subject."

"_Aww._" Nena pouted. "_You're no fun._"

_Meanwhile_

_With Chris_

"_I like this weapon,_" Kira stated as she fired the Trikeros beam rifle at another base mobile armor "_I'm gonna ask Murdoch to permanently attach it to the Strike._"

Liz chuckled as she flipped from mobile armor to suit mode as the last of the defenders began to flee "_Archangel the path is clear._" She said over the radio "_And it seems that Kira found a new toy to play with._" She added with a laugh.

Chris sighed as he shook his head at the pairs banter, having mostly hung back due to having Flay in the cockpit with him he could only chuckle weakly as the pair continued to joke with each other. He realized that this was Kira's way of holding off the shock from her first kills and left it be until they landed. Suddenly his proximity alarm went off and reacting on pure instinct he barely managed to dodge a sword strike from a black CGUE DEEP arms while the Strike, Thunder and Raptor dodged sniper fire from a golden one. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these the pilots that Ryu advised we do _not_ engage?" Chris asked rhetorically as Flay gave a small scream when he threw the Raven into mobile armor mode hoping to put some distance between him and the Black CGUE.

"_So Ryu warned you of use huh?_" A light, joking Feminine voiced asked "_I'm flattered that he thinks so highly of us._"

"_Hn,_" Jacques Grunted as he missed the Raven again "_Don't see why he warned them, they are fairly skilled._"

"_Umm, thank you?_" Liz said in confusion as she rolled into her armor form and fired a volley of missiles at Jacques forcing him to back off from his pursuit of the Raven followed up by the Strike coming down with and overhead slash only to be forced to break off or be shot at from Naleen's sniper.

The four rookies did their best against the pair and to their luck the two vets were till not used to their new suits thus keeping them on a somewhat even playing level when the Archangel thankfully appeared guns blazing on the two enemy suits forcing them to retreat "_I never thought I would be this thankful to see that ship._" Kira admitted as they made their way to the Archangel and was supported by a course of agreements from Chris, Liz, and Amy as they boarded.

_Meanwhile_

Ryu groaned as his rifle made the wonderful sound of clicking indicating that his gun was empty while he had no spare clips left. The spinning of Mark's vulcans indicated that he was running on empty as well as no bullets were coming out. To add to their pleasure both of their suits were screaming an alarm that their suits were running on empty as well. "Looks like it's another draw." Ryu stated as they started drifting away from each other.

Mark sighed "_Looks like it,_" he agreed than spotted Naleen and Jacques fleeing the battlefield "_That's my cue to leave._"

With one final salute to each other the pair both sped off making their way to their respective flagships. Landing on the Archangel just as the Artemis base exploded with one final spectacular explosion Ryu braced himself to the interior of the hanger as the ship rocked. Once it was over he disembarked and greeted a depressed Kira "Let me guess, first kill?" Ryu asked concerned when Kira nodded he drew her into a hug "You're not a monster Kira," he soothed gently as they floated along "You did what was necessary to protect yourself and our friends," he smiled at her "Let's get you into a shower and then I'll give you a back massage, how does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful." she said with a slight smile as she linked arms with him and made their way to their room smiling as he described his fight and past with his 'rival' so to speak. As Ryu gave her his promised massage after he forced her to eat something she smiled "Thank you Ryu." She whispered quietly drifting off to sleep.

Smiling Ryu kissed her forehead and drew the covers over her "Your welcome Kira." He said before going to his desk and activating his terminal and putting in a series of upgrade requests to the Gundams and the new Hyperion that Mu would pilot once the OS was perfected "I swear Kira, I will make sure you and our friends remain safe," he whispered to himself "No matter what."

He then started looking at the Schematic's of the Hero and Warrior, and he looked at them for quite a while. _Alan, _He thought. _Why you left your own Sons, and Wife, I'll never know. _He looked away up at the ceiling. _Wherever you are, I promise I'll keep them in line…until you take over at least. _

**Model number:** YFX-200  
><strong>Code name:<strong> CGUE DEEP Arms Jacques Maddox Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> experimental custom mobile suit  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Armor materials<strong>: unknown  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> ultra compact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features:<strong> sensors, range unknown, Heat and sound dampeners, Radar absorbent Materials  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2 x JDP8-MSY0270 directed thermal energy cannon, mounted on shoulders; 2 x NOL-Y941 heavy laser sword, stored on hips, hand-carried in use.  
><strong>Optional armaments: <strong>MMI-XM17 experimental 37.5mm hyper-velocity rifle  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Completely Black

**Model number:** YFX-200**  
>Code name:<strong> CGUE DEEP Arms Naleen Lynn Custom**  
>Unit type:<strong> experimental custom mobile suit  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Armor materials:<strong> unknown  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> ultra compact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features:<strong> Enhanced sensors, range unknown, High powered sniper camera, mounted in forehead, uncovered in use  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2 x JDP8-MSY0270 directed thermal energy cannon, mounted on shoulders; Prototype Beam Sniper Rifle  
><strong>Colors<strong>: Completely Gold

**Model number:** ZGMF-515**  
>Code name:<strong> CGUE Mark Cadillac Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> experimental custom mobile suit  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Armor materials:<strong> unknown  
><strong>Power plant<strong>: ultra compact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features<strong>: Enhanced sensors, range unknown, High powered sniper camera, mounted in forehead, uncovered in use  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> Custom Katana with an anti beam coating mounted on left hip, hand carried in use; M7070 shield-plus-28mm vulcan system, mounted on left arm  
><strong>Colors<strong>: Green with Red trimming

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** CAT1-XG Hyperion G7  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Mass Production Mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Hyper Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors Range unknown; "Armure Lumière" mono-phase Lightwave shield system  
><strong>Fixed Armament<strong>: 2 x Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire linked on head; 5 x "Romteknica" RBW Type 7001 Beam knife, 2 mounted on arms, 2 mounted on legs, one mounted on SMG, hand-carried when in use; "Forfanerie" beam cannon  
><strong>Optional Fixed Armament:<strong> GAU-8M2 backpack-mounted 52mm machine gun; 4 x Gunbarrel striker pack  
><strong>Optional Armament<strong>:"Zastava Stigmate" RFW-99 beam submachine gun  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Ryu Hisanaga, Mu La Flagga  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> One of the CAT1-XG Hyperion G Units  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Black  
><strong>Info:<strong> One of the 12 Hyperion G units created by Eurasia


	7. Chapter 6: The Scars of space

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

"Reconfirming status," announced Dalida. "No enemies within a five thousand kilometer radius. It appears they've lost sight of us." Murrue sighed in relief. She really wasn't up to _more_ fighting, after the events of the past two days.

"All that pandemonium at Artemis must've covered our escape," said Mu from the copilot's seat. He turned the chair to face Murrue. "So we should be thankful to them, if only for that."

"However…" started Natarle.

"Yes," said Murrue in agreement. "I share your concern. We're fortunate that the _Laurasia_-class is no longer able to track us. But we had so many problems before, and not one of them has been resolved."

The others on the bridge all heaved a unanimous sigh. Murrue was speaking the truth, after all. Supplies were short… especially water.

_Meanwhile_

_Archangel, Hallway_

Flay sighed to herself as she walked through the halls of the Archangel reflecting on the recent events that had happened in the last few days, first they had been attacked at Heliopolis by ZAFT, then chased for days by said ZAFT forces and when they had finally had a chance to catch their breath at Artemis base they were double crossed by the base commander, had Chris not dragged her into the cockpit of the Raven with him who knows what would of happened.

She had gained a bit more respect for the pilots of the Archangel after experiencing the dogfight that had erupted during the escape, she had never been so scared, but somehow knowing that Chris was behind the controls reassured her that she would be fine. Also after seeing Kira in her depressed state opened her eyes to how alike Coordinators were to Naturals, unlike what the propaganda said Coordinators were not unfeeling monsters but could be kind and caring people. Artemis had also opened her eyes to the evil that Naturals carry as well.

She stopped at the door to Ryu and Kira's room and hesitated for a minute before knocking on the door "Just a minute!" She heard Kira's voice float through before the door opened a couple of seconds later with Kira standing there dressed in shorts and a slightly large T-shirt "Oh, Flay what is it?"

"I-uh, I just wanted to say thank you for all you've done," Flay stuttered out "You all have done a lot for us and yesterday made me realize that coordinators aren't as bad as the media makes them out to be."

Kira blinked at Flay with the classic 'deer caught in the headlights' look "Uhh, thank you Flay," she began hesitantly before she gave a soft smile "That means a lot, thanks for telling me that Flay. How are you feeling by the way?" Kira asked as she stepped back and made a 'come in' gesture inviting Flay into the room "I mean with everything that has been going on."

Flay smiled as she entered the room and sat down on Kira's bed as Kira moved around getting dressed "I've been doing fine, still a little shocked though at all that has happened."

"Tell me about it," Kira said empathetically "I never thought that I would end up playing tag with against ZAFT elites in an advanced prototype warship piloting a mobile suit, although I do have one thing to be thankful about all this though." She admitted with a bright smile.

"What's that?" Flay asked curiously.

Kira grinned at the redhead "I'm with Ryu now," she stated "I've had a crush on him since the day he started working with Professor Kato, and well since then I've grown to admire him, he is content with who he is, he admits his flaws and uses his strengths to their fullest." She gave a small giggle "Not to mention he knows when to relax and when to be serious, it doesn't hurt that he's pretty cute too."

Flay sighed "I hope that _I_ can someone like that." She admitted.

"What about Sai?"

Flay shook her head "Don't get me wrong, Sai is a very nice guy, it's just, I don't feel that connection." She said slightly depressed.

Kira sat down beside Flay and rubbed her back and smiled reassuringly "Don't worry, just have some faith," she advised "I'm sure you'll find the right person for yourself."'_Besides he might be closer than you think._' She added to herself "C'mon, I need some coffee and Ryu asked me to help him oversee the upgrades to the mobile suits, wanna come?"

Flay smiled and nodded as the two of them stood up and left the room heading to the cafeteria.

OoOoOo

_Archangel Hanger:_

"A.R.C?" Ryu asked as Jordan and Matthew finally showed him the strange glowing power source of the Hero and Warrior. "Ya," Jordan said. "That's what the Initials spell out. Advance, Reactor, Core. I asked Murdock about it, and he was just as clueless." Matthew nodded.

"But there's something bugging us." Jordan said. "What?" Ryu asked. "Well," Matthew said. "When we got the Hero and Warrior, they were in a separate room from the other Gundams were in, it was in the same room as the Monster." Jordan turned my head to face him.

"So I asked Matthew, Why were these three Gundam's alone separate from the others?" That's when it dawned on Ryu as his eyes widened. "Unless all three machines had one of these things," He finished. "Right," Jordan said. "Meaning there is more than a good chance that the Monster is also equipped by one of these A.R.C's." Jordan leaned on his back against the Hero.

"Who knows what Zaft will do if they get that tech." Matthew said. "All we can hope is that it's nothing stupid." Ryu said. Jordan nodded as he closed the engine on the Hero. We then got back to working on the Mobile suits.

Ryu sighed as he eyed the current problem in front of him in the form of a stubborn mobile suit that refused to cooperate, he had been up all night working on the Strike, Hero, Warrior, the other G-Weapons, and their newest addition the CAT-XG Hyperion G7, upgrading them and running general maintenance on them with the maintenance crews watching in some kind of reverent awe, now he was working on his personal mobile sit the Dynasty. He took a deep breath, "YOU STUPID ASS MORONIC RUSTED HUNK OF JUNK!" he shouted giving the Dynasty a swift kick "HERE I AM TRYING TO UPGRADE YOU AND MAKE YOU EVEN BETTER WHILE _YOU_ ARE REFUSING TO COOPERATE WITH ME! DON'T YOU WANT TO BE THE EPITOME OF BADASSNESS?"

"Jeez, Calm down Ryu!" Jordan yelled back. "Even I don't get that frustrated." Ryu glared back at him, and Jordan raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, yell all ya want." Jordan said.

"Does he usually get that Crazy?" Matthew asked.

Jordan shrugged. "Only on day's he's _really _tired."

That was the scene that Kira and Flay walked into when they entered the hanger with the regular crews cowering in fear as Ryu began to hit the mobile suit with a wrench with a sadistic smile on his face, Matthew looking wide-eye in disbelief, and Jordan just shaking his head. Flay gave Kira a worried glace as Kira sighed and rolled her eyes "Every single time he pulls an all-nighter," she mutter before shouting "RYU! COFFEE!"

Ryu froze and stared at Kira with a borderline worshipping look before he broke the world record for the 50 meter dash grabbing the coffee "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He kept repeating hugging Kira whole rolled her eyes again and lightly smacked his head with a grin.

"You're welcome, now please stop scaring everyone." She requested with a giggle as he separated himself from Kira with a grin and motioned for them to follow.

Picking their way through the spare parts and equipment the littered the hanger Ryu led them over to where the Strike was docked "Now as you can see we have permanently mounted the Trikeros unit to the Strike, as per your request we kept the color the same, we have also added a katana for close combat and when your suit is out of power, it's coated with an Anti-Beam Alloy so don't worry about clashing with beam weapons with it." He explained before leading them over to the Striker packs bay "I've also managed to create some new striker packs with the equipment we have on board, the Sniper Striker has a Mirage Colloid and enhanced radar with it, while the Aqua Strike has enhanced sonar and several torpedo launchers for underwater combat and last but certainly not least is the Gunbarrel Striker pack, it comes equipped with Beam Gunbarrels and me and Mu will give you a crash course later when we have a chance."

Kira blinked as she looked over all of the striker packs "Wow, you did this in one night with limited resources?" She asked amazed.

Ryu chuckled "Not really no, Johanna already had some of the base work laid out; I just put it together and gave them a few tweaks." He admitted. "The Raven, Thunder and Raptor received hard-points to mount weapons from the striker packs and some additional weapons, the Raven now has a missile armament, the Raptor has a pair of Gatling Cannons, and the Thunder has a pair of 90mm Gatling guns hidden in its wrists."

Ducking under a stray piece of equipment Ryu started making his way to the Hero and Warrior where Matthew and Jordan met them, with Jordan talking to Matthew.

"…And that's how I knew the DNA evidence was tampered with." He said.

"Jordan, what does that have to do with Mobile suits?" Matthew asked. He shrugged as Ryu walked towards them.

"Also, we've made a few requested Upgrades to the Hero and Warrior as per Matthew and Jordan's Request." Ryu continued. "First off, the Shadow Scythe has been given two Chests concealed 78mm Beam Gatling cannons, a pair of shoulder-mounted Machine Cannons and its Scythe has been modified to project not one, but _two _beams. Also, now mounted on its left arm is a modified Anchor from the Strike's sword pack, and used a spare shield from the Thunder, put them together and we created the 'Buster shield.' Pretty much the shield can emit a beam that can launch out like an Anchor should, and the two pincers on the shield can crush enemy suits." He then moved towards the Hero where Jordan sat on its foot grinning.

"Lastly are the upgrades Jordan requested." Ryu said. "He wanted to emphasize the meaning of the Hero, so what we did is take two of the spare Boomerangs from the Sword Striker, and mount them onto the Katana's shoulders. And also, we remodified one of the Exia Kai III sword rifles so that he can use two of them at once, one in each hand. He also created two new swords that replace his Katana swords."

He then gestured to Jordan who hopped off the Hero's foot and then he pointed to a pair of large swords lying next to the Hero. "May I present the 'Dauntless' Anti-Ship Swords." He said. "I used the 9.5m Anti-ship swords from the IWSP strike pack, and remodified them. What makes them different from the Schwerz Gewehr sword on the Strike, and even the old Long/Short swords on the Hero, is that they are both the same size, and they can form into a duel-bladed katana sword. Also, I've made upgrades to all of the Beam weapons on the Gundams so that they can function underwater now."

Kira blinked at this fact. "Underwater?" she repeated. "But I thought it was impossible for beams to function underwater!"

Jordan chuckled. "As Mu would say, I've found a way to make the Impossible possible." He said as Jordan gave Ryu a high-five. "It really wasn't that hard to figure out how." Jordan said. "It's all in the energy output really. Unfortunately, it only works for melee beam weapons like the sabers, Daggers, Knifes, and Scythes. I can get it to work for some of the heavier duty beam weapons, but beam rifles are out of the question for now."

Ryu then made his way back to the Dynasty. "As For the Dynasty I'm only doing some basic stuff like upgrading the wiring and tweaking the reactor a bit to increase the power, mostly experimental stuff that I want to test before using it with your guy's mobile suit."

Stepping up to the open panel of the Dynasty that he was working at earlier he downed the last of the coffee "And that pretty much sums up the upgrades, be sure to go over your OS and make sure that it's up to speed with the upgrade," he gave Kira a quick peck on the cheek "Thanks for the coffee."

Kira gave him a sunny smile before walking away with Flay whose head was spinning at all the information that she just received. Ryu sighed and turned back to the Dynasty "Are you ready to cooperate now?" he asked the suit and could have sworn that it somehow smirked at him, or was the lack of sleep affecting him?

_Later_

Matthew walked down the Corridors of the Archangel. Since they lost Zaft for the moment, he could finally get a chance to think things out. _A lot of things have happen in the last few days. _He thought as he reached the observation deck.

As he looked out into space, his first thoughts were his Brother. One of his hopes was that, by Joining Zaft, he could somehow keep his Brother out of all of the fighting. Because he saw that if the Plant's win the war, there would be peace.

_Look where that got us. _He thought. _Jordan's fighting now, our Parents…or at least the Parents we knew are dead on Kane's hands…_

Kane.

The very name of that Psychopath clenched his fists. He didn't even hesitate to kill their Parents. He always had bad vibes from Kane ever since he met him, the same Vibes he got off of Rau Le Crueset.

He was relieved that he acted when he did. If he hadn't intervened…he didn't even want to think about it.

The next thing on his mind was what Garcia had told him and Jordan. _Could we of had a Father we never knew about? _He thought. _It could have just been Garcia pleading for his life…But he didn't seem to be lying._

Matthew pushed that thought away, because it wasn't worth thinking about at the moment.

"Hey Matthew," A voice said, and Matthew turned to see Elizabeth Dante walk in.

"You…Liz, right?" Matthew said, still getting use to saying Jordan's friend's names. Liz nodded. "Good to see you're getting our names down." She said as she stood next to him.

"Say, can I ask you something?" Liz asked.

"Shoot."

"What can you tell me about Jordan's…feelings about Amy?" Liz asked, looking at Matthew.

Matthew raised an eyebrow at this. "Why do you want to know?" he asked. Liz raised her hands. "No no no, nothing like that." She said. "Just…curious is all."

Matthew stared at Liz for a few seconds. "He'll probably kill me for telling you but…" Matthew said, as Liz leaned forward. "Jordan…simply loves Amy with all his heart, but he's too scared about how Amy would react if he just confessed his feelings about her to her."

Liz stared at Matthew in disbelief for a few moments before howling in laughter. "This…this is…This is too Perfect!" Liz said while laughing. "What are you talking about?" Matthew asked.

Liz managed to calm herself down, but she was still grinning like a mad woman. "The thing is," she said. "Amy feels that _exact _same way! But like Jordan's she's too afraid to tell him that she loves him!"

Matthew just stared at Liz for a few moments before _he _started laughing.

Once he calmed himself down, he wiped away the tears from when he was laughing away. "It's like…something out of a bad Soap Opera." He said.

"I know, right?" Liz said. "Now that that's up, I need your help."

"You want me to help Jordan and Amy get together?" Matthew asked, and Liz nodded.

"You are Jordan's Older Brother." She continued. "You know more about him than anyone else on the Archangel at this point. And I am Amy's best friend. Anything she thinks about she tells me. On top of this, I've already recruited Hikari to the cause. I say, that with our combined knowledge, we find a sure-fire way for one or the other too admit their feeling to the other. It doesn't even have to be both! If we just get one or the other too pop, it's a victory!"

Matthew started grinning. "Alright," he said. "Where do we start?"

_Meanwhile_

"Is this our best option?" asked Natarle, looking over their current course to the moon. They didn't have the supplies to really make it on that route. They wouldn't be able to ration for long before the refugees went crazy. "Can't we look for a better route somewhere?"

"Afraid not," said Arnold. "If we chart a course too close to Earth, we'll have to cross the Debris Belt, despite that route taking us less time to reach Lunar orbit."

"Suppose we navigate through it?" asked Murrue suddenly.

"Through the Debris Belt?" exclaimed Arnold. "There's no way that's possible! If we attempt to pass through it at this speed, we'll end up becoming part of the debris!"

"The junk heap that humanity made ever since they began exploring space," said Mu. "It's true; we don't wanna be a part of that." He paused suddenly, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Wait a minute…" said Mu slowly "Yes, the Debris Belt."

"Hm?" murmured Murrue, catching Mu's attention.

"Am I a person who can make the impossible… possible?" asked Mu.

_Meanwhile_

Jordan typed furiously on the Hero's keypad. In the last few minutes, he had finally made a breakthrough in the mystery behind the ARC reactor.

Apparently, Orb has been trying to create a new energy source that replaces Nuclear power, and the ultracompact energy batteries in mobile suits. There answer was proposed by someone.

However, the Data in the Hero didn't show _who _made the ARC Reactors. Just what the ARC was, and what it was basically meant for. The Hero, Warrior, and Monster were three of the first four ARC reactors ever created.

That really grabbed his attention. There was the Hero, the Warrior, and Monster. Who could have the last ARC reactor? Was it at Heliopolis? Or somewhere else?

"Hey! Jordan! You in there?" a voice called out. Jordan took the time away from the Hero's systems, and glanced out of the cockpit to see Darknal waving at him.

"Darknal!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked if I could help you guys out in some way." He said as he approached the Hero. "They said their bridge crew positions were full, but I could help you guys in fixing your suits." Jordan smiled. "Thanks Dark!" he said. "Any help would be appreciated."

"_All pilots to the bridge, I repeat: all pilots to the bridge._" The Comm's went off. Jordan sighed. "Alright, best see what they want now." He said.

_Bridge_

_Later_

A short while later, the civilian volunteers—who actually made up about a third of the crew proper, outside the mechanics—plus Flay and Darknal, were assembled on the bridge as well, to hear Mu's plan.

"Supplies?" asked Tolle.

"We can get some?" questioned Sai. "From where?"

"Get supplies, that's correct," said Mu. His amusement was obvious to them all. "Or to be more precise, we intend to take them."

"We're presently on a course that will put us in the vicinity of the Debris Belt," said Murrue, continuing for the lieutenant.

"The Debris Belt?" asked Tolle.

"I see." Ryu said. "We're salvaging from the belt?"

"Now hold on!" said Sai. "Wait just a minute. You're not saying…"

"The Debris Belt consists of a wide assortment of junked items, drifting around the Earth's orbit," said Murrue. "Of course, this also means it has a fair number of abandoned vessels that have been destroyed in battle."

"You're not suggesting that we get our supplies from there?" said Tolle.

"There's not much choice," said Mu. "If we don't do it, we're not gonna last for very long."

"Besides, it's not like we're the first to do it." Ryu said. "Pirates, Mercenaries, even the Junk Guild go through destroyed ships to collect supplies."

"Once the _Archangel_ arrives, we'd like for you people to use the Mistrals and help with the work outside the ship," explained Murrue. The students frowned.

"We're not too happy about this either," said Natarle. "But it's the only choice we have. Our very survival depends on it."

"We will not scavenge around for things that belong to others," reassured Murrue. "We're not taking that much. Only what we're in immediate need of. Just the basic necessities, that's all." She looked down, a sad expression on her face. "In order to survive."

_Meanwhile_

_PLANT colonies_

"I believe you can understand from the course of events you just saw that our actions were not intended as an attack on Heliopolis itself but the result of collateral damage and that the Earth Forces were at fault for the collapse. That concludes my report. Thank you for your attention," said Rau, saluting the Supreme Council before taking his seat again.

"So Orb was working with the Earth Forces all along," said Orson White, the chairman of the Administrative Committee. "They're the ones who violated the treaty."

"Aren't you being a little premature," said Jason Kojima, the Legislative Committee Chairman. "Orb is more than able to design and build mobile suits and warships."

"But not to design and build mobile suits with the Earth Forces," said Ezalia Joule, a major supporter of Zala, and a member of the National Defense Committee.

"Ah… But Orb didn't design those machines. Morgenroete did," said Jason. "And last time I checked, Morgenroete was a company, not a country. As such, they could do what they please."

"But Morgenroete is a corporation of Orb," argued Ezalia.

"Yes. But Morgenroete is an independent company and is not the Orb government. And we have a treaty with the Orb government, not Morgenroete."

"This only further illustrates that those living on Earth cannot be trusted," said Herman Gould.

"Trusted? How arrogant is it to believe that we are the only trustworthy ones," said Kojima.

"However, Commander Le Creuset, are these prototype mobile suits worth all of the sacrifices that have been made by our forces?" asked Patrick Zala, interrupting their argument.

Rau Le Creuset stood up again. "To explain the new mobile suits and their capabilities to you, I have one of our pilots with me, who has not only piloted one of the new machines, but fought against three of the machines that have remained with the enemy: Athrun Zala. He will give you the report on these new mobile suits, with your permission of course."

"I will allow Athrun Zala to present his report," said Siegel Clyne.

Athrun saluted and approached the council. The display screens in the council's tables came to life, showing the first of the new machines, the Aegis.

"First, I would like to present this machine is known as the Aegis. One major characteristic is its transformation system. GAT-X303; its structural frame is fundamentally different from at least seven of the other models. This allows the machine to transform into a mobile armor. While in this configuration, its main weapon is the Scylla, five hundred eighty millimeter multi-phase energy cannon. As with the other machines, it incorporates a system known as Phase Shift Armor, which we have yet to test properly in actual combat. At present, we are reprogramming the OS to maximize its potential, and judging from its specs, this machine we believe is superior in both mobility and power to ZAFT's main weapon, the GINN."

The Duel appeared, one of its beam sabers drawn.

"GAT-X102, the Duel, this machine was developed with close-range combat in mind and has a wide range of uses. It's believed to the basis of the development of the other nine models. Like the others, it is equipped with the anti-air Vulcan system Igelstellung. The machine carries a beam saber and an anti-beam shield.

Next, the Buster appeared, firing its powerful cannon.

"GAT-X103, the Buster, this machine was designed to be capable of long-range artillery attacks. It is believed that its main purpose was to provide covering fire from the rear, and to perform sniper attacks. It is not equipped with a shield; however, it has a three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launcher, and a high-energy focused beam rifle. By attaching these weapons in different combinations, one can form a hyper impulse long-range sniper rifle, or an anti-armor shotgun."

Then the Blitz appeared. It raised its arm and fired off its missiles.

"GAT-X207, the Blitz, this one has a feature called Mirage Colloid, whereby gas particles are released over the armors surface. In the eyes of the enemy, this machine becomes virtually invisible. These makes it effective for search and destroy missions, however one of the drawbacks is that the Phase Shift armor cannot be used while the system is activated. It's believed that this model was developed for blitzkrieg warfare. It is also equipped with its own weapons, Trikeros and Gleipnir."

The images on the screens changed to images of the Lightning racing into battle.

"The GAT-X220 Lightning is a high speed attack mobile suit that uses a prototype thruster system to massively increase its speed, its armaments is minimal because of this though, for it only has Two 'Igelstellung' 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, two beam sabers stored on the hips, a beam Rifle or a Bazooka, and a shield mounted on the left arm."

The Grizzly showed up on the screen as it fired off its long range beam cannons "GAT-X130 is a transformable heavy assault ground based mobile suit meant for storming bases, as you can see it comes equipped with heavy beam weapons that can rival a battleship and has extremely dense armor that is hard to penetrate, it does sacrifice its speed for this though. It is armed with two 'Schlag' 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannons, a 'Kaefer Zwei' 115mm dual ram cannon, two beam claws, and can use a Beam Rifle or Hyper Bazooka."

Images of the Shadow as it sniped mobile armors from Artimis came next. "The GAT-X290 Shadow, it is similar to the Blitz for it also uses Mirage Colloid, however the Shadow was built for long range sniping operations, and is lightly armed with only two beam sabers, and its Beam Sniper rifle."

The Ghost appeared firing its beam pistol. "The GAT-X130 Ghost, the sister unit of the Shadow, it specializes in close-quarter combat, and Electronic Warfare. It is also lightly armed with a Beam Pistol, two Beam Sabers, and can carry a beam rifle or Bazooka. It is also armed with Mirage Colloid."

Images of the Monster as it clashed with the Warrior appeared next. "GAT-X003 Monster, it is one of the units that were not on the Intel. It seems to be designed to hunt down and destroy its enemies with ease. Also, the Monster is equipped with an unknown energy scores that surpasses Ultracompact energy batteries, and even Nuclear Power. We believe it to be called an 'ARC' Reactor. The Monster is equipped with two palm-mounted beam cannons, four Beam sabers; two of which are fixed on the wrists, and two Heat Sabers."

The screens now displayed the Raven, firing off the twin barrels of its railgun.

"Now, the ones that got away, first of these is the GAT-X302 Raven. Like the Aegis, this machine is able to transform into a fighter-like mobile armor. Its mobile armor form also appears to be able to double as a flight platform for other machines. Its primary weapon is the dual 52mm hyper velocity railgun with a shield attachment. Its main weapons in its mobile armor mode are a pair of 76mm machineguns and the beam blade weapons mounted in the feet of the mobile armor. We suspect this machine was designed primarily for atmospheric and space combat."

The screens switched back to the battle between the Monster, Warrior, and Hero, only this time focusing on the winged mobile suit.

"This is the first Unknown; however thanks to Radio chatter, and data from the Monster, it is confirmed to be the GAT-X001 Hero. This machine is the close combat specialist, armed with two anti-armor swords, two beam sabers; two beam Daggers, and an Exia Kai III Sword/Rifle. This machine possesses a superb level of agility, well beyond any of our captured mobile suits. We also believe this machine to be equipped with a similar ARC reactor the Monster has."

The Data now showed the Warrior, as it clashed with the Monster. "The Second unknown, also confirmed to be the GAT-X002 Warrior. It is a Close-mid-range combat mobile suit that also has Mirage Colloid like the Blitz, Shadow, and Ghost. We also believe this to have an ARC reactor as well. The Warrior is armed with two beam Sabers, a pair of Armor Schneider combat knives, two 'Kotetsumaru' Katana's, a 'Senkoumaru' Naginata, a Beam Scythe, a Trikeros Shield with the same armaments as the Blitz, and a 57mm 'Shoryumaru' Beam Rifle."

The Raptor appeared as it fired a volley of missiles before transforming back into mobile suit mode "GAT-X310 Raptor, an interceptor type mobile suit that was not in our report, all we know is that it has minimal weapons including missiles, beam sabers and rifle."

Next the Thunder appeared as it sliced the Monster's arm off. "GAT-X317 Thunder, a unit similar to the Lightning in speed, and the Raptor in armaments and transforming capabilities. In addition to having similar armaments to the Raptor, it has a 'Heat Shield' that can cleanly cut through any metal even through P.S armor with enough force."

The screens changed to the Strike, launching from the legged ship.

"The GAT-X105 Strike, judging from our encounters with it, we know it to be a machine capable of various types of combat. This model's design allows for it to switch its equipment with modules identified as Launcher, Sword, Aile, and possibly more. We can determine from the image that the Launcher holds three hundred and twenty millimeter hyper impulse cannon. Our assumption is also that it has a one hundred and twenty millimeter anti-ship Vulcan cannon, as well as two three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launchers. The Sword module equips it with a fifteen-meter long anti-ship blade, along with a beam boomerang. In addition, the machine itself carries two knives in its hip section. It's likely this model has extremely high combat potential."

It switch to the Dynasty as it fought against Jacques and Naleen switching from melee mode to sniper "Finally we have what we believe might be the precursor to the G-weapons and one of the most dangerous of all of them, the GAT-X100 Dynasty, it's an all-purpose type suit like the Strike, and it can use different types of equipment such as a missile shield and a Scylla cannon shield, it also comes equipped with a Exia Kai III Sword Rifle like the Hero's, a prototype high density beam sniper rifle that is used in junction with its high powered camera hidden in the forehead, two beam Sabers, a Beam Rifle, and finally it comes equipped with two energy transfer cables that can steal the battery power of a mobile suit or replenish its allies, We have confirmed its pilot to be the Dragon of Endymion Ryu Hisanaga."

Chaos erupted in the room as the councilors began to shout out in disbelief as Siegel Clyne tried to restore order when Rau le Crueset stood up and called attention to himself "Councilmen please calm yourselves!" he called out and surprisingly it actually worked "While it is true Mr. Hisanaga is piloting the G-weapon Dynasty he was forced into it when we mistakenly attacked Heliopolis. He had spoke to me during our brief engagement and told me that his only wish was to defend his home and friends, I believe that if the legged ship rendezvous with the 8th fleet he may leave and return to ORB, although I am not certain on this matter as the Naturals may try and change his mind on this matter."

Mutterings could be heard throughout the chamber as this new information settled into their minds "How do we know this to be the truth though, he is a well known member of the EA?" Ezalia Joule questioned angrily.

"Have you forgotten what he did during the Bloody Valentine incident?" Siegel asked "If he didn't do what he did than we would have lost more than Junius Seven."

The council broke into mutterings again as Patrick stood up "Exactly, if it were not for him and our faithful soldiers than the Bloody Valentine would have been the end of the coordinators," he shouted angrily "Now that they are able to not only pilot mobile suits, but build these monstrosities! We must step up our efforts and eradicate this plight that has set itself upon us!"

The council began to shout their agreements and despite the best efforts of Siegel they would not calm down and continued to give their support to Patrick '_If this continues, the world will spiral into hell._' He thought to himself as he sat down in defeat.

"Though, one thing worries me though." Kojima said. "These 'ARC' reactors on the Warrior, Monster, and Hero, how were they made?"

"We don't know, sir." Athrun said. "We are still trying to gain access to the Monster's ARC, but so far even our best techs cannot access it. It is as if something is fighting them back from gaining the Data they need."

"Could it be an A.I?"

"No." Athrun said. "We did not detect any Artificial Intelligences in the Monster. We are as clueless as anyone."

"They've actually manufactured these abominations!" said Jeremy Maxwell, the disgust evident in his voice. "Those disgusting Naturals."

"But they're only in the trail stages. You can hardly consider ten mobile suits a threat," said Eileen Canaver.

"But if they've come this far, the next step would be to mass-produce," said Ezalia.

Jason Kojima started to laugh, causing everyone to stare at him. "I'm sorry. But this is just so ridiculous," he said. "You call those mobile suits abominations, but the Earth Forces are simply doing what must be done in war. If your enemy builds a superior weapon, than you must create better weapon to counter that one. Frankly, I'm surprised that it took them this long to create their own mobile suits."

"How can you say that?" asked Gould. "This is a clear indication of the Naturals intentions. They crave war, a desire to violence and havoc."

Jason laughed again. "Few people, whether Natural or Coordinator, ever truly crave war, next you're going to say that all Coordinators care only about peace and all Naturals are Blue Cosmos members," he said. "Your thinking is just like that of Blue Cosmos, narrow-minded and bigoted."

His comment sparked a massive shouting contest among many of the Council members, while Clyne vainly tried to reestablish order among the Council, when Patrick Zala spoke.

"There is no one who prefers to fight. Who among us actually wants to head out to a battlefield? We want to live peacefully, gracefully, and happily. That has always been our only wish." Zala stood up, his voice becoming louder. "But who so ruthlessly shattered that wish? Who took our freedom away for their own selfish ambitions? Who pushes us aside to better themselves? Who exploits the Coordinators?"

"Who will never let us forget the Bloody Valentine Tragedy? The nightmarish destruction of Junius Seven! Two hundred forty three thousand seven hundred and twenty-one people. It has been one year since that abominable incident claimed so many of our fellow citizens. Yet we've pondered endlessly to try to end this war quickly. Our demands have been minor. However, the Naturals have put our efforts to waste, time and time again!"

"We fight because it's the only way to protect ourselves. If we must fight to protect ourselves, then we have no choice but to fight!" said Patrick Zala, bringing his speech to an end.

Almost the entire Council was quiet. None could really argue with him. Save one.

"As always, you have a flare for the dramatic Zala. But using the victims of Junius Seven as rallying cry for war is despicable and an insult to their memory," said Jason with a mock applause.

Zala's face could barely conceal his rage. "How dare you say," said Zala, barely stopping himself from yelling. "My wife was killed at Junius Seven."

"Which is why someone like you should not be a member of this Council during this war," replied Jason. "Leaders, both political and military, should never have a personal reason for fighting a war. They must lead with a clear mind. Free of anger, hatred, and desire for revenge against the opposing force. They must be willing to hear any call for peace and even if there is only a slight chance, they must be willing to take it. I do not believe that you are able to, Zala. And frankly, I fear the day you come into power."

"My fellow Council members, as you know, I come from a long line of soldiers. I served in ZAFT's military before becoming a member of this Council. My children are both fighting this war. I know how wars must be fought. We must fight this war with calm and rational minds. Not minds consumed by hatred and vengeance. It must be fought for peace and peaceful coexistence with the Naturals and the Earth. Not for retribution. Seeking retribution and vengeance will only lead to more death, more pain and suffering, more hatred."

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I urge you, all of you, don't let this war become personal. Don't let this war become about vengeance for those lost at Junius Seven. Don't let this war become consumed by hatred. Nothing good will come of it. We must be better than those who destroyed Junius Seven. This war cannot end the way it started. If it does, then nothing changes and the next war will just be a continuation of this one. It is our responsibility to ensure that our children, their children and all the children yet to be do not suffer from our mistakes."

Patrick growled. _'Damn that man!' _He cursed in his mind. _'That stubborn fool just can't see what needs to be done! He'll ruin everything! There has to be a way to remove him.'_

_Meanwhile_

Debris Belt

Jordan moved through the debris field, eyes darting about almost constantly. A haunting feeling filled the pit of his stomach. He almost felt as though he were being watched from the dark by some horrendous creature that could only exist in nightmares—to horrible to even make it into fairytales. _God I played Dead space to damn much. _He thought. _And then I had to play Dead space 2, and 3. I swear though, If I see a Space zombie I am GTFO._

"_Jordan? You okay?_" came Matthew's voice. Jordan looked up, realizing that he had frozen. The Warrior's hand was now resting on the Hero's shoulder.

"I… I think so," Jordan said, moving forward again to look around the other side of the piece of debris in front of them. "This place just scares the shit out of me."

"I heard that!" Ryu said as the Dynasty appeared from a destroyed ship. "You play Dead space too?"

"Yup," Jordan said. "Talk about bad timing."

"Sorry, I've never played it." Liz said as she drifted by. "But from how spooked you guys are, I think I'll stick with Gears of war and Halo."

"Doesn't Halo have space zombies too?" Amy asked as the Thunder observed a destroyed ship. "Ya, but Dead Space takes the cake in the fear factor." Jordan said. "As much as I love halo and the Flood, those dead space Zombies are scary as shit. What were they called?"

"Necromorphs," Kira said. We all just stared at her. "What?" she asked. "Cant a girl play a Video game every now and then?"

"…Ryu, you have the Perfect girlfriend." Matthew said. "Thank you!" Ryu said, and Kira giggled.

"_Chris, have you found anything yet?_" asked Flay. The redhead was now regularly manning the comm. station.

"_Nah, there's nothing really here,_" came the reply as the Raven began to move around the debris to look in the same area Jordan, Matthew and Liz were about too. "_This is starting to look like a—_"

Chris suddenly stopped speaking, and Matthew felt his stomach plummet.

"_Chris? What is it? Chris? Brother, are you there? What do you see?_" asked Liz. "_What do you see? Chris? Are you there? Please respond._"

"_Home…_" replied Chris, his voice quiet and faint. Jordan and the others passed the debris, and saw what Chris did. Ryu's stomach clenched even tighter, twisting painfully. "_Liz… It's home…_"

Liz's face instantly became pale and like her brother, she was paralyzed from shock.

"_What is he talking about?_" asked Captain Ramius. "_What has he found?_"

"The largest memorial in the history of mankind," said Ryu softly. "He's found the Bloody Valentine… the remains of Junius Seven."

"_Our home, before the war began,_" said Liz.

_Later_

"WHAT!" nearly half the bridge shouted in disbelief while the other half simply stared at him. "Is that wise sir, we'd be desecrating the grave of millions." Natarle blurted out in shock.

Mu sighed "Yes I know it would be, but we need that water if we are to make it the rendezvous with Halberton alive." He stated "Do you know where else we can find Gallons of water for free?"

"Mu's got a point." Ryu stated as he walked into the bridge with a coffee in his hand "We are in a life or death situation, as much as I dislike having to do it, it is necessary right now for our survival."

Ryu turned to Matthew. "Well, what do you think?"

"What? You want to know what I think?" asked Matthew.

"Well, this was your home. So we should hear your thoughts on this," said Ryu.

"Well… Truth be told, I don't like the idea of stealing from the grave of so many of my friends. But we don't have any other choice. We need the supplies and as long as we take only what is needed and nothing else, then we should do it," answered Matthew, somewhat hesitantly.

"Though I do request that I…" Matthew sighed. "There's something I need to do out there…something I should have done a while ago."

"I understand, and permission granted." Ryu said. "Just take Jordan with you things get out of hand." The brothers nodded as they left the bridge.

"Are the mobile suits ready to be launched?" Murrue asked.

Ryu gave a sharp nod and passed her a clipboard "They are, this is a list of all the upgrades that were made," he answered "The pilots have been given copies and have reviewed them; all they need is some testing."

"Very well," she sighed "Inform the other pilots to get ready to launch, your objective is to protect the Mistrals as they gather the necessary amount of ice that we need."

Ryu and Mu both saluted and coursed "Yes ma'am." Turning they both exited the bridge and started making their way to the rec room that the pilots spend their spare time at.

"Are you sure your okay with doing this Ryu?" Mu asked cautiously "You can sit this out if you need to."

Ryu shook his head "No it's alright." He answered "It'll be a bit troublesome but I can deal with it."

Mu nodded in acceptance before he grinned "So how are things going with the little lady?" he asked suddenly making Ryu blink before smiling softly.

"It's going good." He said in a soft voice before stopping and looking out of a view port leaning against a railing "It's funny; I feel more of a connection to her than I ever did to Yuna." He turned and looked at Mu "Loosing Yuna was hard Mu, But if I lose Kira..." he trailed off unable to finish the sentence.

Mu nodded gravely and placed a hand on Ryu's shoulder "You won't lose her kid," he reassured with a grin "Especially if you're the one protecting her."

Ryu smirked at Mu and they both started making their way to the rec room. Upon entering they saw Chris in the workout area running through a martial art kata, probably trying to keep his mind off of the debris belt, Kira and Liz where sitting on the comfy chairs gossiping with each other, with Amy and Hikari doing the same thing, and Jordan passing through the Radio looking for some good music.

"Pilots listen up!" Ryu called out getting the rookie pilots attention "We will be launching soon to collect resources from the debris belt, most notably water, the only thing is we have to collect the water from the remains of Junius Seven." He paused at the gasps from the pilots "Liz, Chris, I can understand if you wish to sit this one out."

Chris shook his head "No, We are low on pilots already and if we sit this one out and we're attacked than we won't be as prepared." He said with Liz nodding in agreement.

"Besides I think we need closure," Liz agreed "So we'll be launching as well."

Ryu nodded in acceptance "Very well, we'll be acting as scouts and guards for the mission making sure that we aren't surprised if pirates or ZAFT, if you do see signs of them DO NOT engage, report back and keep hidden while we determine if they are a threat or not, if they are making hostile actions towards our area or if they spot us than you have permission to engage."

They nodded and Mu, Liz, Chris, Amy, Hikari, and Jordan left leaving Ryu and Kira alone. "Are you okay?" Kira asked quietly as she wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped his around her shoulders "You seem tense and worried."

Ryu sighed deeply "I'm worried," he admitted honestly touching his forehead to Kira's "I don't know what would happen to me if I lost you as well."

Kira smiled reassuringly at him and place a hand on his cheek "You won't lose me Ryu," she stated "because I don't want to lose you either." Kira pulled away slightly to look at him better "So long as we watch each other's backs we'll be just fine."

Ryu smiled gratefully at her "Yeah, yeah I guess you're right." He admitted before he lent in and kissed her "What would I ever do without you?"

Kira giggled "You'd probably become a crotchy old war vet with a chip on his shoulder." She retorted making him laugh "C'mon, we better go get ready."

_Later_

Darknal was, quite frankly, astounded. The crew and refugees had been told where they were getting water from, and a request had been made to make paper flowers as a type of 'memorial sending'. It was entirely volunteer work.

Not only had no one been particularly happy about where they were getting water, but they were all more than eager to pay their respects to the dead anyway they could. Everyone had volunteered to help, including Flay who, though he had heard her privately admitting that she didn't particularly like Coordinators, was equally horrified by the events of the Bloody Valentine.

When they were finished, Miriallia cast them into space over the ruins.

A short while later, the crew went to work.

"Hey is that…?" whispered Darknal as he spotted something on the Mistral's sensors. He was working with Jackie on this one. Darknal glanced over at Jackie. "I think there's an intact _Laurasia_-class pod over there," he said. "Aren't those where the frigates keep their hangars?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Jackie. "Let's go take a look, probably some ammunition and spare parts in there that we could take advantage of."

"Yeah," said Darknal. His reservations regarding the little scavenging trip had all but disappeared. "Damn, the hatch is closed."

"Hey, Guys?" said Jackie over the radio. "Could you help us over here? We'd like to take a look inside, but we need one of you to cut this thing open."

"_Not a problem,_" said Chris.

"_I got it._" Kira said. "_The Strike's sabers are better for that sort of precision cutting._"

"_Roger that._" Ryu said. "_Report what you find._"

Jackie sighed. "Those guys… I've got to admit, it's a little weird working with Coordinators and civilians," he said. "For a lot of people I've met, including many of the lost crewmen of the _Archangel_, this war is about Naturals and Coordinators. It's so stupid…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Darknal in agreement. Kira arrived and quickly cut open the hangar.

"Thanks," said Jackie as the two flew the Mistral inside and activated the spotlights. "Whoa…" muttered Jackie.

"Well, that's a surprise," said Darknal. "Plenty of spare parts there…" _Although…_

Within the hangar was a group of five smashed apart mobile suits, mostly GINNs and CGUE's, but a pair of shields indicated two of them were once a CGUE and a GuAIZ, and single nearly intact GINN as well.

"Huh…" said Darknal "Um, mister Tonomura? Could I go out there and see if that GINN's operational?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Jackie.

"Uh, it's uh… well," sputtered Darknal. Finally, he sighed. "Well… I'm a Coordinator as well," he finally said. Jackie dropped his face in his palms as best he could while wearing the space suit.

"How many Coordinators did we bring onto this ship?" asked Jackie.

"I've been talking with Kira and the other pilots lately," continued Darknal. "I've been thinking 'if they're fighting for their friends and the refugees aboard, why not me?' Of course, there's the issue of no extra mobile suits or armors, and I'm not stupid enough to fly out in a Mistral, and the bridge is mostly covered. Maybe I won't fight at all—that depends on the captain—but why not see if I can at least use the GINN to help gather supplies?"

"Alright, I'll approve it," said Jackie. "It makes sense. Just be ready to get chewed out over this."

They closed the visors on their spacesuits, and Darknal exited the Mistral. He made his way over to the GINN, using the wreckage to help get himself over there. He entered the cockpit and looked around.

"Now then, where is that activation switch…? Aha!" said Darknal. He pressed the switch… and the GINN came to life around him, and outside its Red Omni-eye activated. "Let's see… control review… okay… okay… got it. Oh I am so in business!" He activated the radio. "Mister Tonomura? I think I can move this. I'm calling the _Archangel_ now."

"_Got it,_" said Jackie.

_Bridge_

"Next thing I know, the doctor will call and tell me that _he's_ a Coordinator as well," said Murrue. "Alright Darknal, you have my approval. Go ahead and start with the equipment in that hangar. I'll send Liz and Chris over to help out. We'll see about Murdoch repairing the GINN when the other suits don't need it, and if you get some practice before hand, I'll go ahead and let you fly it."

"_Thank you ma'am,_" said Darknal. "_There also seems to be a few Guuls in here… that doesn't make any sense…_"

_Meanwhile_

_With Jordan And Matthew_

The Hero and Warrior flew across the repaints of Junius seven. Jordan almost couldn't stand it. Everywhere he looked…he saw bodies floating around…men…women…Children…

The children alone made him want to hurl. Ever since that day the Colony was first destroyed, he thought…how could people do this? How can humanity hate each other so much to commit such an act of hate, just because our genes were different. Just the thought of it made him sick.

"_Jordan, you alright?_" Matthew asked on the Comm. "_You look a little pale._"

He smiled grimly back at him. "I'm…fine Matt." Jordan said. "Just…I just can't…"

"_You don't have to say it._" Matthew said. "_If you want…you can-_"

"Matt, I'm fine." Jordan said, cutting him off. "I can do this."

Matthew nodded. "So, exactly what are we doing here?" He asked.

"Hang on, we're almost there." Matthew said, not really answering his question.

The Warrior suddenly landed in front of one of the numerous houses. Oddly, there weren't as many floating bodies around here. A thing Jordan was happy for.

Jordan landed the Hero next to the Warrior just as Matthew exited the cockpit, carrying one of the Paper flowers that were made.

When he exited the Cockpit, Jordan stood next to Matthew as he stared at the house we landed in front of.

"I'm back." Matthew said suddenly. Jordan looked at him, wondering what he meant.

"I know that…I'm a little late Kelsey…" He said, his grip tightening on the flower. "And…I couldn't tell you how I…" At that point, Jordan could see tears forming in his eyes, as they floated within his helmet.

That was when it hit him, and his eyes widened.

"Kelsey I just…I know that nothing will add up to how I failed." Matthew continued. "I failed to save you, your Family, and every other citizen of Junius 7…I just…I hope you can forgive me…please."

Matthew then walked up towards the house, and placed the Flower on the porch of the house. "Kelsey…I love you." He said, and he walked away and faced me.

"Matt…I…" Jordan tried to say something, anything to help his older brother…but honestly, what could he have said?

"This is why you _need _to tell her how you feel, Jordan." Matthew said as he headed towards the Warrior. "Because if you don't…you may never get the chance."

Matthew boarded the Warrior, and took off, while Jordan simply stood there, thinking about what had just happened.

_Meanwhile_

Kira sighed as she guided the sniper equipped Strike around another piece of debris as she continued her patrol route around the perimeter of the destroyed PLANT, she surveyed the area sadly looking at the destroyed homes in the area, Chris and Liz had taken hard seeing their home again and Ryu had given them permission to go and pay their respects to their family as he, Mu and herself did the patrols. Matthew and Jordan also went away, and they returned just a few minutes ago.

Mu was taking this opportunity to test out the new OS that Kira helped Ryu develop for Natural use while Kira was using this chance to test the Strike Sniper Pack. Looking over to the right she smiled gently at the sight of hundreds of paper flowers that Liz, Flay and the civilian children made for paying their respects to the the fallen innocents of Junius Seven. A sudden beeping caught her attention "What, a distress signal..." she wondered out loud before switching to the radio "Ryu I picked up a distress signal at point 045A, requesting permission to inspect."

"_Granted,_" Ryu affirmed "_Use your Mirage Colloid in case of a trap._"

"Understood," Kira replied before switching the radio to standby and activated the stealth system and headed towards the signal. When she was about two klicks (Military term for Kilometers) away she stopped and brought up the sniper rifle and activated the high power camera to scan the area. Almost immediately she spotted a totaled civilian ship with a reconnaissance GINN inspecting the wreckage. Kira locked onto the cockpit and raised the rifle as she continued to monitor the GINN when one of the Minstrels suddenly flew by Kira catching the attention of the GINN. Cursing Kira fired her shot right before the GINN could react piercing the cockpit destroying it. Deactivating the Mirage Colloid she radioed Ryu "One Reconnaissance GINN was destroyed, it had spotted one of the Minstrels and was preparing to attack, found the source of the distress signal though, a downed civilian ship, to recent to be a part of the wreckage from the debris belt, should I search for survivors?" she questioned.

"_Yeah, see if you can find any life signs aboard the ship or any life pods._" Ryu answered crisply "_Do you need any assistance?_"

"No I'll be fine." Kira replied before cutting the link and moving to inspect the wreckage '_No life signs on the ship..._' she thought to herself before switching to long-range scanners '_Hold on..._'"I got something Ryu, it's a life pod."

"_Understood, bring it to the Archangel, our operation is wrapping up now._" Ryu ordered as Kira grabbed the pod and boosted back to the Archangel.

"Yes sir, see you there." Kira answered with a grin and a mock salute that made Ryu chuckle before breaking the link.

_Later_

"You have a knack for bringing in things that other people left behind," commented Natarle, to which Kira was silent. Jordan, however, was not.

"Well, the way I see it, there's a descent chance we just blew up the rescue for whomever or whatever's in there," he said. "It's perfectly possible those GINNs were searching for this lifepod, I mean, why else would they be out here?"

Natarle shrugged. "You're probably right, but that just concerns me more."

"Alright, I'm opening the hatch now," said Murdoch. A trio of armed soldiers was present, just in case they'd pulled in someone hostile.

The hatch of the lifepod opened and…

A bright pink ball flew out.

"Haro, Haro," said the ball, rouge flaps on its side flapping wildly. "Haro, Lacus, Haro." The ball flew straight at Chris's face and he caught it.

"Haro! Hello there! Haro!" the ball shouted, startling him.

"What? What is this?" he said, staring at the pink machine. However Matthew was staring at the ball with wide eyes. '_No way…_' he thought.

"That's Haro," Came a soft voice from the lifepod. "And thank you. I appreciate your assistance."

Everyone looked back at the lifepod to see a beautiful teenager, the same age as Kira, Chris, and Jordan, float out of the pod. Her joyful expression and the light in her bright blue eyes especially entranced Matthew.

"Well doesn't this make things more complicated?" Ryu groaned as he palmed his face and looked at their newest passenger.

Lacus Clyne has arrived at the Archangel.

Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU


	8. Chapter 7: Battle lust

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

As Lacus Clyne floated over the occupants of the hanger, Matthew moved up and helped stop her momentum from exiting the Life pod.

"Oh, thank you!" Lacus said in her cheerful tone. Matthew blushed ever so slightly, however Jordan managed to catch it, and grinned.

Lacus then blinked. "Oh…Hello Matthew!" she said, surprising many in the hanger. "I thought you were with the rest of the Le Crueset team!"

"Um…well…" Matthew tried to find an answer for her question. "Let's say…things changed."

Then, the girl looked curiously at the Earth Forces patch on the shoulder of Matthew's uniform, and glanced uncertainly around at all the other Earth Forces uniforms.

She gulped slightly. "So… this isn't a ZAFT ship?" she asked.

"Sorry, no." Matthew said. "This is a Prototype E.A Vessel, the _Archangel. _But don't worry Ma'am; most people here hold nothing against Coordinators."

"I can vouch for him, Miss Clyne." Jordan said floating next to his Brother, surprising her. "I've gotten to know most of the crew too, their trustworthy."

Lacus blinked as she glanced at Jordan, then Matt, then back to Jordan. "Mr. Takeo is he related to you?" she asked, pointing at Jordan. "Because you look so similar."

"Of course," Matthew said. "Lacus, meet my Little Brother Jordan."

"Oh, so you're Matthew's Brother?" Lacus asked, and Jordan nodded. "Yes, it's an Honor to finally meet you Miss Clyne."

"Please, just call me Lacus." She said. "Miss Clyne was my Mother."

Everyone just continued to look at her in surprise. Almost.

"You're… Lacus Clyne," said Liz in a state of disbelief.

Chris glanced at his sister. She was the biggest Lacus Clyne fan he had ever met. Her eyes were wide with surprise at the sight of her idol. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one as Amy was also staring wide-eyed.

"Why yes I am."

Liz and Amy glanced at each other, then at Lacus, then back to each other.

And finally, after one Fan girlish Squeal…they both Fainted.

Hikari sighed. "I knew she'd do that…" she muttered as she tried to wake her sister up, Chris doing the same thing.

"Rabid fan-girl's! Haro! Rabid fan-girl's!" the strange ball robot shouted. "Smart Robot." Darknal muttered to no one in particular.

_Later_

Ryu, Mu, Murrue and Natarle inspected the girl that sat calmly before them in the Captains quarters. Ryu was leaning against the wall beside the door while Natarle and Mu sat on a chairs across from Lacus while Murrue was behind her desk "So you were going to Junius Seven for a memorial service when the EA forced an inspection on your ship and acted aggressively making your crewmen nervous, they then proceeded to force you into one of the life pods when the EA soldiers suddenly attacked you and launched you away from the ship." Murrue reiterated what Lacus had just told them. At Lacus' nod Murrue lent back into her seat and heaved a sigh "Just like you said Ryu, things got more complicated."

"I apologize if my presence causes you any problems." Lacus said apologetically with a small bow.

"Sorry, Haro, Sorry!" the red Haro added from its spot on her lap between her hands.

"Well we can't really do much about it now, she isn't a member of ZAFT and, while albeit important, she is only a civilian so we can't hold her hostage or ransom her away." Mu stated before he sighed "Admiral Halberton would be able to send her back to the PLANTs once we rendezvous with the 5th fleet."

Ryu rubbed his forehead as he shook his head "Blue Cosmos is going to have a field day," he muttered catching every ones attention "Coordinators piloting their 'top secret' Machines and Lacus Clyne daughter of the supreme chairmen of the ZAFT council. Yeah this'll end well." He muttered at the end and did air quotes on top secret.

"But ma'am I have to disagree with you there, we could use her as a bargaining chip with ZAFT-" Natarle began only to get cut off by Ryu.

"If you even _think_ of following through with that sentence Ensign I will personally make sure that you will never see the ground again." Ryu snarled standing up straight his green eyes flashing dangerously "That would be the same as me and the others using Flay as a bargaining chip with Halberton to make sure we get to ORB safely, you would be showing the world that the EA doesn't care for the rules of war. No one would trust you to keep to your treaties and then break them off." Natarle shrank back under his hard glare and gulped when she heard of the possible ramifications, Turning to the captain Ryu's look softened "Are there any Blue Cosmos supporters that you know of on this ship?" he asked her.

Murrue sighed and folded her hands in front of her with her elbows resting on the desk "I honestly don't know, and that is not a good thing when there is a VIP coordinator on board." She admitted with a sigh.

"I don't think there are." Mu said. "Otherwise they would be saying things about Ryu and the others piloting the G-Weapons. But I think it would be best if we at least put a guard on her quarters. Like Matthew."

"That would be fine." Lacus said. "Mr. Takeo is a good friend of mine."

Now, though Lacus didn't notice it, though the other E.A officers did, Ryu had a strange…'Glow' to his eyes right then, and he had an almost invisible Grin. He, as well as Jordan, noticed how Matthew reacted seeing Lacus. '_Oh, this will be interesting._' He thought.

"Well, anyways, I'll go inform Matt of his 'Guard Duty'." Ryu said. Murrue nodded as he turned and left the room, as soon as the door closed he was ambushed by an excited Liz, and Amy "Is that really Lacus Clyne?" Liz demanded as she pinned a surprised and shocked Ryu to the wall. With Amy holding his arms back. "Because we were either hallucinating, or Hikari was telling the truth." Amy finished.

"Yes." He answered cautiously "It is Miss Clyne, now can you let me go I need to speak with Kira."

Liz and Amy squealed as they let Ryu go deteriorating into their Fangirl states once again, making Ryu slowly back away as he searched for an escape route, spotting Kira he grabbed her and made a swift retreat around the corner leaving Chris, Hikari and the others to deal with them. Kira giggled as she saw Ryu pant from exertion from trying to get away from the duo. "You really fear fangirls don't you Ryu?" she asked teasingly as she grinned at him.

Ryu shivered "That was nothing, I've seen several commandos go into that state," he said with a haunted look "Ever since then I could never sleep in the same room as Hawk."

Kira laughed out loud as Ryu mocked glared at her. Walking over he held her gently "Are you alright?" he asked in concern "I know that you were pretty shook up with destroying that GINN."

Kira rested her head under Ryu's chin and nodded lightly "I'm fine; it's just the shock of the kill." She said honestly "I'm fine now though."

Ryu smiled at his girlfriend as he ran his fingers through her hair "Good," he whispered. It was then Matthew came around the corner. "Ah, Matt," He said. "Listen; since we don't know who if anyone on this ship could be Blue Cosmos Supporters, we need someone who Miss Lacus can trust to be her 'Guard'. Since you seem to already know her well, I'm making you, her Guard." Neither he nor Kira missed the blush on Matthew's face. "A-are you sure, sir?" he asked. "I mean, isn't there anyone else?"

"You're the only one on the ship she could trust at the moment." Ryu said. "I'd say you're the only one." Matthew sighed. "Fine, sir." He said, and he left.

_Vesalius_

Athrun laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling lost in thought reflecting on what he learned just a couple of hours ago. Lacus, who had taken a trip to Junius Seven for a memorial service, had gone missing, possibly kidnapped, he and Rau now carried new orders for a search and rescue for Lacus. He wasn't able to sleep because of his worry for his fiancé, while he may not love her in that way he still cared for her deeply and would do anything to protect her, rolling over on his side he saw his new roommate fast asleep and remembered meeting him shortly after being informed of his new mission.

_Flashback_

_"Now that we are clear on your orders I want to introduce you to three new pilots who will be temporarily joining your squad," The admiral said as he gestured to three figures off to the side. _

_The first was a 36 year old man. He was 7'2 with Long Shaggy Crimson Red hair, with a mid-length Red Beard, and Golden eyes. _

_The Second was also a man. He was Younger, looking to be about 23 and three inches shorter than the first man. He had short blonde hair, and the oddest eyes Athrun had ever seen. His right eye was ice blue, while his left eye was emerald Green._

_Finally, the third was a woman, and the youngest of the three. She looked to be 18, and had long white hair, and brown eyes. _

"_These are Soma Peries, Ian Moone, and Gary Biaggi." The Admiral said. "Soma is from the Chobu Special Forces Team; Ian is piloting a new Prototype mobile suit, while Gary is a Freelanced Mercenary piloting his own Custom GINN."_

_The three saluted. "A pleasure to serve under you sirs." Ian said crisply. _

"_I As well," Soma said. "I look forward to seeing the G-Weapons in action."_

"_Same here," Gary said. "I simply can't wait for my chance at Mr. Dragon."_

"_Mr. Dragon?" Athrun asked. _

"_My own little nick-name for Ryu," Gary said, with a smirk. Though Athrun wasn't sure…something about this man didn't feel right. Like he was either hiding something, or else…_

"_Some here will be piloting a new GuAIZ Variant we plan on Mass Producing." The Admiral Continued "Gary is using his own Custom CGUE DEEP arms, while Ian is piloting our new Experimental unit, the ReCAT's."_

"_ReCAT's sir?" Athrun asked._

"_ZGMF-109 ReCAT," Ian answered. "A unit based off of captured specs for an EA Prototype mobile suit called the GAT-01E Aviator."_

"_So the E.A was building suit different than the G-Weapons?" Rau asked. Ian nodded. "Yes, however we thing that the ReCAT can be an efficient counter against the Aviators."_

"_I have to agree with the kid." Gary said. "Though it is still a Rip-off of their machine, the ReCAT could be useful. Just as long as you leave Ryu to me in the next battle, we'll be fine."_

"_Why's that?" Athrun asked. However he shivered slightly at Gary's Smirk. "Oh…just some Personal history is all." He said, the smirk never leaving his face._

End Flashback

"Are you alright Athrun?" Ian asked jerking Athrun out of his revere "You look like something's troubling you."

Athrun gave a wry smile "A couple of something's actually, first is Lacus obviously, but..." he searched for a way to describe his predicament without revealing that he knew the pilot of the Strike "A friend I have in ORB and I have been having this argument," Ian raised an eyebrow and motioned for Athrun to continue but said nothing "We're disagreeing on whether or not she should be living in the PLANTs because she's a coordinator, she says that she doesn't want to, but I just want to make sure she is safe."

Ian nodded with a frown "Let me guess, your friend is the pilot of the Strike." He said shocking Athrun "Don't worry I won't tell anyone, the only reason I guessed is because you said she lived in ORB and in all of your fights with the Strike you both slightly hesitated in your attacks. Has she told you _why_ she is fighting for the EA right now?" he asked.

Athrun sneered "She believes that she is protecting her so called _friends_." He snarled the word "but they're just tricking her to fight for them!"

"Have you met these friends of hers?" he asked curiously to which Athrun shook his head "Than why do you judge those you have not met? The way I see it is that she doesn't want to fight you, but she's in a position where she has to choose between two groups, you and her other friends. That would be a tough choice."

Athrun clenched his fist tightly "Also she and the Dragon are apparently in a relationship." He reveled surprising Ian.

_Flashback_

_"The reason I care is because I love her, I am her guardian as she is mine."_

End Flashback

Ryu's words echoed through his head as he thought back to that moment "That's a surprise." Ian finally said after awhile "It sounds like you're envious of the Dragon." Athrun jerked in surprise as he stared at his roommate in shock who chuckled "You just have to accept the fact that what she is doing is what _she_ believes is right, is she in the wrong? I don't know, and in the end neither do you. You have to accept the fact that the two of you are on different paths now, who know, maybe in the future your paths will cross again in better circumstances, but until that time, what will _you_ do?" Ian lay back down and closed his eyes "That is where many make their mistakes, I hope you can find your path, not the one someone else laid out for you."

Athrun remained silent as Ian's words coursed through his head.

_Meanwhile_

Gary Biaggi waited for his contact on his Computer. Then finally, he received a message.

"_Your mission is to simply test the Dragon and the Dynasty's fighting abilities._" The message read. "_You may kill the Dragon if you see an opportunity, however it is not required. You are the only one who has a chance at defeating him._" Gary smirked. "We all know why." He muttered to himself.

"_Your mission will commence soon._" The message said. "_Good luck Grey Biaggi. AKA: Ali Al Saachez._"

Gary or Ali Al Saachez smirked as he closed the message. "About damn time if you ask me." He muttered as he stood up, and looked out the window. "Oh, it's gonna be _so _fun killing you Ryu Hisanaga. And easy…after all…I _did _teach you everything you know."

_Meanwhile_

"I will admit, I am surprised you're here, Matthew." Lacus said in her quarters as she spoke with Matt. "In an E.A Uniform no less."

"Well…It's kinda complicated." Matthew said. "It's not that I really _defected. _It's more like I have to stay on this ship for…family reasons."

"You're Brother?" she asked, and Matthew nodded. "Lacus…A lot of things have happened since we last meet." He said, with a sorrowful look on his face.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, concerned for her friend. Matthew sighed. "Lacus…Mine and Jordan's Parents…are dead." That caused Lacus to gasp. "H-how?" she asked. "I thought they were at Heliopolis…"

"Exactly." Matthew said. "They were there when Zaft attacked. We were on a mission to capture and/or destroy the E.A Mobile suit prototypes. I and Kane were ordered to take any extra prototypes that were not on the list of Mobile suits. But that was where things went…wrong." Matt sighed. "We followed a pair of Morgenroete employee's into a hidden hanger where three mobile suits that were not on the Intel were. Kane killed the first…and that was when I realized that the person he killed…was my Father." Lacus Gasped. "After that, I realized My Mother was the other Employee…I…I tried to just capture her but Kane…he…he just _murdered _her." He voice cracked up a bit when talking about that. And Lacus was very tempted to try to comfort him.

"If that wasn't bad enough…My brother watched the whole thing before his eyes." Lacus's hands flew towards her mouth. "He tried to shoot Kane, but Kane was about to kill him…but I wouldn't let that happen." Matthew said. "I lost my Parents and Kelsey, I wasn't about to lose my Brother…So I shot at Kane. He lived, but he escaped using one of the machines." Matthew then sighed as he looked at the ceiling. "Jordan…he didn't know I was still alive." He said. "He thought I died back at Junius 7…"

"Was he…mad?" Lacus feared the answer. Thankfully, he shook his head. "No…In fact he was happy." He said. "He thought he lost everything…then finding out one of the people he cared about the most practically returned from the dead…I don't think I've ever seen him so happy."

"At lease that went well." Lacus said. Matthew nodded. "Ya," He said. "Now, I may never work for Zaft again…but right now my place is here, with my brother. I left him once…I will not leave him again. Besides…" he grinned. "He still needs my _help _on a little girl problem."

Lacus grinned slightly. "Oh, do tell." She said.

Matthew faced the door. "Hikari, Liz, I know you're there." He said. "Come on."

There was a sighing sound, and Hikari and Liz walked in. "How did you know?" Liz asked.

"I can hear a lot of things, Liz." Matthew said. "Anyways, here it is Lacus. Jordan has a massive crush on a girl. You've met her before, you know, Amy? Hikari's sister?"

"Red hair, purple/red eyes?" Lacus asked, Hikari nodded. "Yes, but here is the thing." She said, and grinned as did the others. "Amy has a Crush on Jordan too. However, _both _of them are too scared to admit it to the other."

Lacus grin increased. "And you want my help?" she asked. They all nodded. "Yes, it's simple." Matthew said. "Now, if My little brother hasn't changed as much, then he still has his secret hobby of Singing…" for the next few minutes, the four were in the room, collaborating on getting a certain Gundam pilot, to admit his feelings to a certain other Gundam Pilot.

_Later_

_Mess Hall_

"Did Matthew really blush when Lacus appeared?" Flay asked, a wide grin on her face, happy to have some gossip after the last few weeks of sheer terror.

"Yeah, Matthew looked like he had seen a ghost when she came out of the escape pod." Amy said, and both girls began giggling.

"What is with girls and Gossip?" Jordan whispered to Chris, who shrugged. "I Dunno." He said. "Never got around to finding out why."

"It's a girl thing!" Amy said, with a giggle.

"What's so funny?" a soft, cheerful voice said, and both girls, and the two boys turned to Lacus, and both Flay and Amy began blushing in embarrassment, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, nothing!" Amy said. "It's…nice to see you again Miss Lacus!"

"Please, just Lacus." She said. "Miss sounds too formal."

"So, why are you here, anyway?" Jordan asked. "I thought Matt was guarding you in your room?"

"Oh He had to leave for a bit, and I got hungry. So I came here to get something to eat." Lacus said. She then noticed Flay. "I'm Sorry; I don't think we've met yet." Flay said. "I'm Flay Allster."

"Pleasure to meet you, my name is Lacus Clyne" Lacus said, giving a small bow, "This is my friend, Haro, but he also goes by Mr. Pink, or even Pinky." Lacus indicated to her constantly chattering companion.

"It's so cute!" Amy squealed, "Where did you get it?"

"A friend of mine since childhood made it for me, Athrun Zala. It was a gift for my sixth birthday. It was very thoughtful of him, I liked it so much. He made another one for me, and another, and another. I have about five of them."

"Five!" Amy said, "Why so many?" To this the Pink Princess began giggling herself.

"I enjoyed Mr. Pink's company so much. Athrun just continued giving them to me at Christmas and birthdays. And the real truth is he isn't very good at buying presents, so he just stuck to this." And all three girls shared a brief laugh.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Matthew said, "Lacus, I thought I told you to wait in your quarters."

"I know, but Mr. Pink wanted to go for a walk, and he opened the door" Lacus held out the pink Haro and it chattered and popped its flaps.

Matthew sighed. "Lacus, please go back to the quarters, Jordan, could you show her the way? And grab her some lunch while you're at It." to which he gave a brief nod, and left after grabbing her a tray of food. Shortly after, Amy also left to follow.

From the corner, Hikari and Liz appeared. "Alright Lacus, do your thing." Matthew said as the trio followed.

_Later_

"Thank you," said Lacus, finishing off the tray of food. Jordan smiled. "It's no problem," he said.

"You know, Matthew's told me a lot of things about you." Lacus said. "A lot of interesting things." Jordan blushed slightly. "Please tell me he didn't mention the…Fish-hook accident?" she nodded, causing Jordan to blush more.

"However, he also mentioned that you took Singing as a Secret Hobby." She said, to Jordan's Shock.

"He told you _that _too?" he asked and Lacus nodded. "So, is it true?" she asked.

"Well…ya, I guess." Jordan muttered. "There are a few songs' I wrote…and sung…"

"Well then let's hear one!" Lacus said.

"Uh… no. I'm just an amateur singer, nothing like you."

"Oh, come on," said Lacus as he blushed more. "I want to hear it."

"O… okay," Jordan said, before clearing his throat.

'_**One day too late' by Skillet Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Dr9a0BC64Q8**_

_**(AN: This is the best AMV I could fine, I may make one myself, but until then, please enjoy.)**_

The Heliopolis volunteers, including Chris, Amy, Hikari, Liz, Flay, and Matthew pressed their ears tighter to Lacus's door, now even more curious. All of them wanted to hear this. They'd never have pegged Jordan as someone who would pursue singing, even as a hobby.

_**Tick-tock hear the clock counts down**_

_**Wish the minute hand could be re-wound**_

_**So much to do, and so much I need to say,**_

_**Will tomorrow be too late? **_

Jordan's blush grew deeper as he began to sing. He didn't think he was that good, and here he was, being asked to sing by Lacus Clyne, the most prominent diva in the modern world.

_**Feel the moment slip into the past**_

_**Like sand through an Hourglass**_

_**In the Madness I guess I just forget**_

_**To do all the things I said!**_

_**Time passes by…**_

_**Never thought I'd wind up**_

_**One Step Behind**_

_**Now I've made my mind up**_

Outside, eyes widened, especially Amy's. Jordan's singing was as stunning as everything else about him, even if it didn't measure up to Lacus's.

_**Today I'm gonna try a little harder**_

_**Gonna make every minute last longer**_

_**Gonna learn to forgive and forget**_

'_**Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it**_

Haro was completely silent, almost seeming to be listening as well, while Lacus's smile grew.

_**(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies**_

_**(Today) Today reach out to somebody who needs me**_

_**Make a change; make the world a better place**_

'_**Cause Tomorrow may be one day too late.**_

_**One Day Too Late**_

_**One Day too Late**_

Jordan's blush faded as he began to relax into the song, his eyes closing.

_**Tick Tock hear my life pass by**_

_**I can't erase and I can't Rewind.**_

_**Of all the things I regret the most I do…**_

_**Wish I'd spent more time with you**_

Even outside the room, one could tell that the boy had thrown himself, heart and soul, into his singing. It was now loud enough that several crewmen, walking down the hall, paused to listen as well.

_**Here's my chance for a new Beginning**_

_**I saved the best for the better ending**_

_**And in the end, I'll make it up to you, you'll see…**_

_**You'll get the very best of me!**_

_**Time passes by**_

_**Never thought I'd wind up**_

_**One step behind**_

_**Now I've made my mind up!**_

Lacus admired the serene look on Jordan's face. The boy seemed at peace—as he hadn't seemed since Lacus had met him.

_**Today I'm gonna try a little harder**_

_**Gonna make every minute last longer**_

_**Gonna learn to forgive and forget**_

'_**Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it**_

_**(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies**_

_**(Today) Today reach out to somebody who needs me**_

_**Make a change; make the world a better place**_

'_**Cause Tomorrow may be one day too late.**_

Neither of them noticed Haro's eyes flashing rapidly.

_**Your time is running out**_

_**You're never gonna get it back**_

_**Make the most of every moment**_

_**Stop Saving the best for last!**_

Many of Jordan's friends couldn't believe their ears. Jordan had such potential at being a singer. Maybe even better Lacus could be. None were more shocked that Amy.

_**(Today) Today I'm gonna try a little harder**_

_**(Today) Gonna make every minute last longer**_

_**Gonna learn to forgive and forget**_

'_**Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it**_

_**(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies**_

_**(Today) Today reach out to somebody who needs me**_

_**Make a change; make the world a better place**_

'_**Cause Tomorrow may be one day too late.**_

_**One Day Too Late**_

_**One Day Too Late**_

_**One Day Too Late**_

_**One Day Too Late**_

Jordan fell silent, a smile on his face. Lacus smiled as well. Jordan was better than he gave himself credit for.

"Well, I'd say you have a very promising career in the music industry," said Lacus. Haro's eyes stopped flashing. "It was beautiful." Jordan blinked. "Y-you really think so?" He asked. She nodded.

"Lacus! Beautiful. Jordan!" said Haro as he blushed. Haro suddenly stopped moving, and then they heard Jordan's voice coming from the robot, singing the same song.

"What the hell? Did that thing just record me?" Jordan exclaimed, blushing again, this time at the thought of someone having a recording of his singing.

"Now why don't you ever do that for me?" asked Lacus playfully. "Hmm… maybe Athrun can explain it."

"Athrun?" Jordan asked. "Athrun Zala, my Fiancé." Lacus said. "But...well it's kinda complicated."

"Why's that?" Jordan asked, interested. "Well, I do love Athrun, but it's like a Brother-sister thing." She answered. "I doubt it would have worked out for us in the end."

Jordan nodded "So this Haro is his design?"

"That's right," said Lacus cheerfully.

"I see…" Jordan said. "I guess you can consider yourself lucky really." Lacus raised an eyebrow. "How so?" she asked. However inwardly, she was grinning, as was Matthew outside.

"Well, you know how much someone loves you." Jordan said, smiling. "But…there is a person who I really do like, maybe even love her, but…. I don't know if she loves me the same way. And I'm…well…afraid to ask her because if I did, she may not want to be my friend anymore if she says no."

Lacus smiled. "That's a tough situation." She said. "Well, the best way to find out is to just ask from what I've seen." Jordan blinked. "Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "I may not know _exactly _who she is_._" She said, with a grin. "But all I can really tell you is that you just need to give it your all, just like how you sing. And regardless of her answer, if she was really your friend, she wouldn't care either way."

Jordan smiled. "Thanks Lacus." he said, and he stood up. "I guess you're right. Well, I'm off to the Mess Hall. Who knew singing takes all that out of ya."

Lacus giggled. "I know all too well."

Unknown to either of them, everyone outside had begun to move, most heading for the mess hall.

Jordan opened the door and stepped out. He glanced back at Lacus. "I'll see you later… and _please_ don't let anyone else hear that recording, at least not yet?" Lacus smiled and nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll only show it when you say it's ok." Jordan smiled. "Thanks Lacus." he said.

Shortly after he left, Matthew, Hikari, and Liz met with Lacus. "You did great Lacus!" Matthew said. "Now it's all up to those two now."

Lacus smiled as she stood up. "Time to watch the fireworks." Liz said as they headed towards the Mess Hall.

_Hanger_

Kira's head popped up from the panel she was working on with the Strike "Someone's is playing matchmaker." She stated to Ryu's surprise.

"How in the hell do you know that?" He asked in confusion looking at his girlfriend as she frowned.

"It's a girl thing, and I have a feeling on who the victims are," She mused smiling deviously making Ryu nervous.

"I just hope you never turn that smile towards me." He muttered shivering.

_Mess Hall_

"Uh, what's up guys?" Jordan asked uncertainly as he entered the mess hall. Everyone was staring at him.

Amy stood up, two trays held in her hands.

"Hey, Jordan, I was hoping you'd show up," she said. "Can we talk? Alone?"

"Uh, sure," He said uncertainly before leaving the mess hall with Amy. Unknown that Matthew, Hikari, Liz, and even Lacus were following them with grins shared on their faces.

_A few more minutes later_

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jordan asked as he sat down on one of the beds, His tray of food resting in his lap as Amy did the same on the opposite bed.

"I… well, I heard you singing earlier," confessed Amy, blushing slightly. Jordan looked down, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. "It was… it was beautiful. Why don't you sing more often?"

That's when Jordan looked up. "Y-you really think that?" He stuttered out. She nodded, smiling weakly. "Yes." She said. "But…Why don't you sing more often?" Jordan looked back on the ground. "Well…" he said "I feel…embarrassed when I sing sometimes."

"Embarrassed?" She asked. "Ya…"he said "Ya see…something happened about a year ago when I first moved to Heliopolis…let's just say I haven't sung in public since then."

"Something bad, Funny, or embarrassing?" she asked. "Bad and embarrassing from my point of view." Jordan said. "But from Chris's, it was all too funny."

"What?" she asked. Jordan scratched the back of his head. "Well…" he said "It was a night after me and Chris was studying for some test…" Jordan told her the whole story, and by the end of it, Amy was trying her very best not to laugh in front of him. "That…Was…HILARIOUS!" she shouted as she couldn't suppress the laugher any longer and rolled on the bed laughing. It was a good thing she set her food aside otherwise it would have been all over her.

After a minute of her laughing, she finally calmed down, and faced a blushing red Jordan. "Oh um…sorry," She said, starting to blush again. "It's ok." Jordan said. "Just…please don't tell anyone else." She nodded. "Also…" she said, standing up "I heard that there was someone that you cared about." She sat back down in the bed he was sitting in.

At that point blushing was an understatement for his appearance, for his face was as red as a Tomato. "Someone you cared about more than anyone else you've known. Who is it?" Jordan bit his lip, and almost tore it off when Amy put her hand on his. Jordan's mouth was rapidly stuttering to just say the words he was trying to say. "I…I…I" Jordan stuttered, trying to force the words out. _Come on man! _Jordan thought. _Just say it! _

"What?" Amy asked. "What is it?" That's when he took a very deep breath. "Well, Amy…" he said "That person I love most…is…you."

Now it was Amy's turn to be ripe as a tomato. "M-me?" she asked, stuttering just as he was. "Yes." Jordan said, relaxing a bit now that _that _was off his shoulders. "I've…I've always liked you ever since I met you, but…well as time went by…those feelings became more that just a crush…I…I love you Amy. More than anything, I…don't know if you feel the same way for me…but I guess I just wanted to tell you that."

At this point, Amy was absolutely speechless. All this time she was afraid how Jordan would have reacted if _she _told him how she felt. And right here and now, it turned out Jordan _did _love her that same way, and she, like her, was too afraid to admit his feelings in fear of rejection.

She couldn't help but smile. _Well…time to make up lost time. _She thought as she leaned closer to him. "You know what, Jordan?" she whispered, and he turned to face her. "I feel that exact same way."

Jordan's eyes widened, and almost subconsciously to both of them, they slowly leaned towards one another, and before either of them knew it, their eyes closed, their arms wrapped around one other, and their lips met into their first kiss.

Outside, Liz Matthew, Hikari, and Lacus watched grinning in triumph at the sight of them finally kissing. When they walked away, Liz gave Matthew a high-five. "Mission Complete," She said. "I knew we could do it!"

"I'll admit, that was pretty fun." Lacus admitted. "And Jordan really does have a great singing voice."

"Yes, he does." Matthew said. "Hey Lacus, you think you could-"

"Try to find him a singing contract after the war?" she finished, and Matthew nodded. "Of course, it's the least I could do. For once, I may actually have some competition for once."

_Archangel _Bridge

"Hmm? What's this?" murmured Romero, staring intently at his display console as his fingers moved over the controls.

"Ma'am!" said Romero. "We're receiving a transmission."

"Who is it from?" asked Murrue.

"I'm verifying it right now," replied Romero. "It's from the 8th Fleet!"

"It's from Admiral Halberton," said Murrue, practically jumping out of her chair. "Patch it through."

Static filled the bridge speakers. "_Arch… gel… Come… Archangel… This is… gomery…_" said a voice, growing clearer and clearer. "_Come in Archangel… This is the Montgomery. We've been dispatched to rendezvous with you and escort you to the rest of the 8th Fleet._"

A loud cheer filled the bridge. It looked like their luck was finally turning around.

Archangel Mess Hall

Ryu yawned as he and Kira stepped into the cafeteria to get some dinner after finishing the maintenance and repairs for both the Strike and Dynasty as well as making some minor adjustments to the Raven Raptor, and Thunder. The pair sat down next to Chris, Liz and Flay, who had apparently hit it off well with Lacus after learning she was a daughter of a leader as well, who were talking and eating with Lacus. "Hi," Kira chirped brightly "We haven't been properly introduced yet, I'm Kira Yamato, the pilot of the Strike."

Lacus smiled at the brunette "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Yamato, my name is Lacus Clyne." She said with a slight bow of her head.

Kira groaned "Please don't call me that makes me feel old." She said plaintively giving a puppy eye look.

Lacus and the other laughed at Kira while Lacus nodded in agreement when Birdie suddenly swooped in and landed on Ryu's head "Birdie?" It questioned looking at the newcomer and her Haro.

"Oh my." Lacus said as she looked at Birdie "What is that?"

Kira smiled brightly "It's a mechanical bird that an old friend of mine from the Lunar Academy gave me," she explained "His name is Birdie."

"Haro!" Lacus' Haro shouted as it jumped out of her lap and onto the table in front of Ryu who looked at the red ball nervously before it jumped up to catch Birdie. Unfortunately it missed its target and smacked Ryu in the forehead as Birdie took flight.

"OW!" Ryu's shout resounded through the cafeteria as everyone laughed at Ryu's expense as Haro continued to chase Birdie around the room. Sitting up Ryu glared at the red ball and the mechanical bird as he rubbed at his forehead "Sooner or later, I will dismantle them." He warned as his eyes held a dangerous glint in them.

"If you did that then I would never speak to you again." Kira threatened frowning at Ryu how began pleading with her not to do that.

Lacus and the other laughed at Ryu. That was when Jordan, Followed by Amy walked into the Mess Hall. "Hey, Jordan! Sarah!" Greeted Chris. "Where've ya been?" Ryu raised an eyebrow at when _both _of them blush a light red. And he also noticed Lacus, Matthew, Hikari, and Liz grin like maniacs.

"Well…uh…" Jordan said, Amy not fairing any better. "They were in one of the unused rooms making out!" Liz blurted out loudly. Both of them flinched when she just blared it out, while Chris's Jaw dropped, Ryu's eyes Widened and Kira grinned crazily '_Called it_' she thought.

"Liz!" Amy shouted at her friend. To which she started laughing. And soon, Matthew joined in with Lacus and Hikari giggling slightly.

"I told ya it would work!" Matthew said, and Jordan glared at him. "You _planned _this?" Jordan Demanded.

"It was just a little joint-operation with some cooperation from Liz, Lacus and even Sebastian." Matthew said while grinning at Jordan's enraged face. "And besides, it all worked out in the end…right?"

Jordan finally started to calm down, and sighed. "Dammit, your right." He muttered.

"Just Remember Jordan…" Hikari said. "That's _my _sister, and if anything happens to her, I will be holding you're responsible, understood?" Jordan nodded his head like Crazy.

Everyone was laughing at the pair when an announcement suddenly came on "_Attention Personnel and Civilians, we have recently made contact with an escort sent by Admiral Halberton of the 8th Fleet led by George Allster._" Kuzzey, who had taken the role of communication, announced to everyone's delight.

Flay's eyes widened at the sound of her father's name and started crying in happiness while Kira hugged Ryu, Liz and Chris exchanged high fives, and Amy gladly hugged Jordan. The whole mood of the Archangel changed with that simple announcement, the civilians were talking excitedly about the prospect of returning home while the crews were relieved and relaxed that they had allies en route. The pilots were relieved that they may not have to fight again anytime soon, although some where having second thoughts to their plans.

Chris sat back in his chair forehead creased in thought '_What should I do?_' he asked himself '_Grandfather always taught us to fight for one of three things, honor, and a cause they truly believed in and to protect a life. What should I do?_'

Liz was having similar thoughts while Kira was concerned about Ryu rejoining the EA '_What would I do if he did, would I want to stay just to be with him?_' she wondered as she leant into Ryu with his arms wrapped around her shoulder '_Well, it's like Ryu always says, if it has no impact on the moment than wait and see what happens._'

As Jordan hugged Amy, He was having a mental tsunami. _What should I do? _He thought. _At first, I was confident I would stay with the Archangel and the Hero…but now…_He looked at Amy. _…Now I'm afraid that Amy will stay if I stay. Not that it would be a bad thing, but I want her to be safe more than ever now. _Jordan shrugged it off. _We'll worry about that later. _He thought. _Right now, let's just enjoy the moment. _

Amy was having similer thoughts. _What will you do Jordan? _She thought. _I don't care what you choose, right now, I just want to be with you. Whether it's at Orb, or at the Archangel. _

Matthew smiled as his Brother hugged his newly acquired Girlfriend. _They'll stay. _He thought. _They'll probably all stay. They've all seen how bad the war really is. They will want to help out in the end. Hell, I'm probably gonna stay too. _He then smiled. _Family, Friends, Honor, and Life. _He thought. _The four reasons a person should fight…_

He glanced at Jordan one last time. '_That's why I'll fight now.' _

Ryu himself was sighing as he held Kira and looked around the Cafeteria at his friends, all of them seemed to be in a state of confusion save for Matthew '_To chose a life of war, no longer ignoring the outside, or to chose a life of peace knowing how truly fragile it is,_' He mused looking down at Kira and smiled softly '_My choice: To defend that fragile peace, that is _my_ role as a soldier._'

The Bridge of the _Hades_

Elsewhere

Zar sighed as he sat down in the commander's chair on the bridge of the Hades. A few hours ago, the _Gamow _along with the other G-Weapons, including Kane's, had left with Mark to continue their search for the Legged ship. While the _Hades, _and it's two Escort _Nazca-_class's _Hydra _and _Chardon_ to search for Lacus Clyne.

Though Personally, Zar was more in favor of fighting the Legged ship, seeing it to be more of a threat. However it was also true that if Lacus were killed, and by the E.A as a Worse Case Senario, it would trash the moale of the soldiers of Zaft.

So that was why he had most of his teams searching around the area for the 'Pink Princes'. It was a Job that was actually well fitted for Zar's team since he didn't have just command under one team, but several on both the Earth and in Space.

With Zar at the moment was the commander's of three of his four space teams. First, was the commander of Gelb Team, Orbert Jager. He was as tall as Zar was, with Military-cut blonde hair, and grey eyes. With him was his only squad mate, Rainer Altman. A bald man with brown eyes and was an inch shorter than Orbert.

The second commander was Bernard Schmidt, commander of the Grun Team. He had short white hair, and emerald Green eyes. He stood two inches taller than Zar. He commonly was called 'The Owl' for his keen eyes, and ability to adapt to the battle's situation.

The third, and final was Dimitri Heinreich, the leader of Indigo team. He was just as tall as Zar was, if not half an inch shorter, with dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. He was known as the 'Indigo Heron', and was known as one of the best aces in the war for killing over 45 Moebius units, five of witch were ZERO's, and five GINN Mercenaries.

An of course, his Daughter Sayla was present as well.

"Sir. We've detected three Earth Forces warships." Said the Navigator.

"Out this far? That's unusual," said Sayla.

"They could be an escort for the legged ship," said Captain Dren.

"Indeed. That is likely why they're out here," said Bernard. "Have they detected us yet?"

"Unknown Sir. As you know, we're on the edge of the Debris Belt. May or may not be able to detect us."

"Hmm… If they have detected us, they'll warn the legged ship. And depending on the Captain of that vessel, they'll either stay away or come to their assistance," said Zar thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling.

Orbert contemplated their next move, knowing his commander was likely bemoaning the lack of coffee at the moment.

Meanwhile, Bernard also thought about what to do. He first thought of the Ship's last known status. From what he heard from two of Zaft's G-Weapon pilots, Nena and Johann, they spoke with two pilots of the E.A's machines, and they reported that Artemis may not have supplied them properly due to Garcia's greedy personality. Thus they would be low on supplies.

Second, was their ability to fight. He knew that Ryu would be more than ready. As for the other pilots…at first he didn't think them as threats, and that they were operating more on luck than anything else. But seeing the battles they have been in thus far…they are learning, and learning fast.

"Sir. The _Vesalius_ is hailing us."

Zar and the other commander's let out sighs of annoyance. Both of them, but especially Sayla and the other Squad Leaders of the Hellfury Teams, hated having to take orders from that man. But orders were orders. Until the legged ship was captured or destroyed, they were stuck.

"_Commander Hellfury, it seems we've found some unexpected guests. It's safe to assume that they're here for the legged ship, which means that we should remove them from the field immediately,_" said Le Creuset.

"So we're switching from searching for Miss Clyne, back to our original mission," said Bernard. "You're planning on using that small fleet as bait to draw in the legged ship."

"_Yes. Either the legged ship will come to their allies aid, in which case, we'll be able to destroy it right here and now. Or they'll flee, in which case, they'll be alone and likely low on supplies. So why don't you deploy that Bayonet maneuver that your fleet is so famous for?_" said Le Creuset.

Zar nodded. "Very well. We'll deploy the Gelb Team. Once they've done their damage and pulled back, I'll be sending Grun, and Indigo teams in as well to engage them. If the legged ship comes to their aid, we'll destroy those three warships with the cannons of the _Hades_, and move against the legged ship. If not, then the mobile suits will shoot them down. I assume that you'll be deploying the rest of the mobile suits as well."

"_Of course,_" said Le Creuset before closing the connection.

"Damn masked freak," cursed Dmitri. "Who does he think he is, bossing us around like that?"

"Nevertheless, that masked freak has been put in charge. Until then we can rid ourselves of him, we have to carry out his orders," said Sayla grimly. "We're deploying the Bayonet. Bring the ship up to full combat alert. Inform the _Warsaw_ and the _Thor_. Orbert, Rainer, get ready for launch."

There was a chorus of "Yes, sir," among the bridge officers before carrying out their orders.

"That sucks. I was hoping for a challenge." Altman said.

"I know. Cripple and paint those warships. Then fall back and we'll do the rest."

Orbert saluted again. "Yes sir."

_Meanwhile_

"So, what do we have so far?" Darknal asked as he monitored his GINN's controls in the Cockpit.

In the last few days, Kira, Ryu, Jordan, and Matthew have been working around the clock on Darknal's new GINN.

Internal Repairs were easy enough with all of the spare parts acquired. They even used some Gundam parts that were compatible to increase its performance. Armament-wise, it had the standard weapons a GINN would normally have, with a few exceptions.

First, the GINN still had its MA-M3 Heavy Blade on its back as it's standard Melee weapon, as well as a 28mm Shield Vulcan on its right shoulder. However it was also introduced to several beam weapons that after some recalibrations were now able to be used on the GINN.

Such Weapons were now two Beam Sabers that were holstered on the hips. Also in place of the Machine Gun was now a 57mm Beam Rifle from the Strike. Also it had a GuAIZ Composite shield mounted on its left forearm with its beam Claws still intact on it. They also took one of the Dynasty's spare sniper rifles and gave it to the GINN per Darknal's request.

A few other weapons were salvaged from the Hanger, including a few M66 Canis Short-Range Guided Missile Launchers, two M69 Barrus Heavy Ion Cannons, and a M68 Cattus 500mm Recoilless Rifle.

Another Upgrade was that they managed to salvage a GuAIZ's Thruster pack, and mounted it on the GINN so that it can function much better on land and in space.

"Well, though it's not as powerful as a Gundam in terms of armor…" Ryu said. "I'd say it give a run for their money."

"I'll say." Matthew said. "This thing is even better than those CGUE DEEP arms. I'd say if we run into Zaft again, they'll have one hell of a surprise waiting for them."

"Now, it's just missing one more thing." Darknal said as he exited the cockpit.

"What?" Kira asked. Though the boys all knew what it was. "A new Paint Job." They all said at the same time.

Kira sighed. "_Boys and their toys…_" she muttered silently.

"So, what's it gonna be Dark?" Jordan asked. "It's your machine after all."

"I was thinking…" Darknal said. "Maybe some Forest green like the Dynasty's with some Red/Black Trimming."

"Done." Ryu said. "We'll get on it now since the maintenance on the other Gundams is finished. Should be finished by the time we link up with the fleet."

"Ya…too bad I never got a chance to really use it though…" Darknal muttered.

"Don't be too sure, Darknal." Matthew said, drawing their attention. "If I know Le Crueset, he'd make one final appearance before this is all over." Ryu nodded. "I'd have to agree." He said. "I think the Gundam's should be on stand-by just in case." The others nodded in agreement.

_Later_

_Bridge_

Murrue stood between Mu and Natarle as they talked with the Vice Minister and the Captain of the Menelaos Captain Hoffman. "_So I hear that my daughter is onboard correct?_" George asked eagerly leaning forward in his seat.

"That is correct sir," Murrue confirmed with a smile "She is doing well and is safe and sound."

"_And what of Hisanaga, have you had to throw him in the brig yet?_" Hoffman asked jokingly "_Still remember when your squad was stationed on my ship La Flagga._"

Mu chuckled sheepishly "Sorry about that Captain, but to be fair the guy _was_ a member of Blue Cosmos." He countered making the Captain laugh.

"_We should be able to rendezvous within the next day, until then Archangel._" Hoffman dismissed with a nod as the link closed.

Murrue smiled gently and turned to the Heliopolis volunteers "Go ahead and visit your friends," she said to their delight "Also can you ask Ryu to report to the bridge please?"

They nodded and left the bridge to go celebrate with the rest of their friends and a short while later Ryu stepped into the bridge and saluted "You called Captain?" He asked.

Murrue nodded "What is the status of the mobile suits?" she asked.

Ryu cocked an eyebrow but answered nonetheless "The mobile suits are all ready to launch when you give the word ma'am, we had to make several adjustments to the OS for the Hyperion and added some of the spare Striker Hard points to it, and Darknal's GINN is also prepared."

"A feeling I have," she answered honestly "I don't want to get caught with our pants down."

Ryu smirked in understanding "Anything else you need from me ma'am?" he asked.

"To stop calling me ma'am for one," She answered as she waved her hand in dismissal.

"Whatever you say," he answered as he saluted "Ma'am."

Murrue's eye twitched as the rest of the bridge crew stifled their laughter.

_Later_

_Ryu and Kira's Room_

Ryu groaned as he stretched out in his room, it had been a long day for him, he hadn't gotten any sleep since Junius Seven and he was looking forward to getting some sleep. "Tired Ryu?" Kira asked teasingly as she hugged him from behind.

"Yeah I am." He admitted turning in her embrace and put his arms around her "I can't believe that were going to going home soon."

"I know, these past few weeks have been exhausting." She added as she kissed him "Sometimes I feel like I'm going to wake up in the morning and this has all just been a dream."

Ryu smiled in understanding as they both sat on the edge of him bed "I know how you feel, It was the same for me after I left the EA, Like I was going to wake up to the sound of Claxons instead of my alarm." He said as he rubbed her back.

Kira bit the inside of her lip as she leaned against him "What do you plan on doing when we linkup with the 8th fleet?" she asked surprising him.

"I plan on returning to ORB with you Kira." He answered reassuringly "Why do you ask?"

Kira sighed "Because I'm worried that you'd stay with the Earth Forces," She admitted "I don't want to lose you Ryu, I'd rather stay a pilot beside you than lose you."

Ryu blinked several times before smiling softly and held Kira tighter "I don't want to lose you either Kira, you mean a lot to me as well," he agreed "The only way I'd remain a pilot is if you decided to continue pilot Kira."

Kira blinked away a couple of tears as she buried her face into his shoulder while he ran his hand through her hair "Thanks, I needed to hear that." She said gratefully after they broke apart.

_Later_

_Archangel, Bridge, Next Day_

Murrue sighed in relief as she caught sight of the Menelaos and its two escorts "Looks like things are finally heading our way for once." She commented as she leaned back into her chair.

"We're still not out of the woods yet." Mu amended with a slight crease in his forehead "We still need to make it to the rendezvous point."

Murrue hummed in agreement as they hailed the Menelaos "Captain I don't think you realize just how glad we are to see you." She stated when the video link opened.

Hoffman chuckled "_I think I can relate."_ He said with a smile and opened his mouth to say more when alarms erupted on both ships "_What is going on?_"

"_Sir we have an enemy contact,"_ Hoffman's radar officer reported in a panicked tone_ "There are: 24 GINNs, 2 GINN HM types, 8 CGUE's, The Aegis, a CGUE DEEP arms, and…two Unknowns sir!_"

"An unknown?" Mu asked as Sai confirmed the numbers. "What's the Enemy Fleet?"

"Three _Nazca-_class, and…oh…shit." Muttered Sai.

"What is it?" Murrue asked.

"Ma'am…one _Aztec-_class is in the formation." Sai said, and the whole bridge gasped. Everyone knows that the _Aztec _class Super Battleship was on par with the Archangel in armament, and faster than even a _Nazca _in speed. The support fleet wouldn't stand a chance against those odds alone.

"Captain! The Archangel stands ready to assist!" Murrue volunteered immediately.

Hoffman sighed as he glanced at the Vice-President "Normally I would say to go on ahead, but against these odds we need the assistance." He admitted reluctantly "Archangel Take position at the back of the formation and launch your mobile suits please."

Murrue sharply nodded and began to shout off orders as Mu took off to the Hanger "All Hands level One Battle Stations! Plots are to report to their machines and standby for Launch!"

_Meanwhile_

_Rec Room_

Everyone in the room froze when the announcement that they were going into combat came over the line before the pilots broke off into a sprint heading to the hanger. Chris and Kira stopped when they heard Flay call out Chris' name "Please, please protect my father!" she pleaded her grey eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"We'll do our best Flay." Kira promised reassuringly "But we really need to get moving now."

In the Hanger Ryu was shouting off his own orders to the pilots "Listen up, your machines still haven't been fully tested yet with their new upgrades, so if you are having _ANY_ troubles whatsoever than I want you to fall back to Archangel and get it looked at I don't care how you feel about it, it is an _ORDER! MOUNT UP!_" he shouted over the sound of the hanger as they dashed to their machines.

"Mir, mount up the Gunbarrel Pack!" Kira requested as the Strike settled into the Launch Catapult.

"Get me a 'Trikeros' unit." Ryu ordered as his Dynasty settled into the second catapult and went over the contact report "An experimental? Alright listen up Kira you're on the Aegis, Liz and Chris you'll be joining the defensive screen that the mobile armors are prepping, Darknal, this is your first mission, so take it easy, Mu I want you at the back of that screen, you're still not used to that machine so you won't be at top form, but if you see a hole fill it, Amy, your with Mu for the same reason. Matthew, Jordan, deal with those HM GINN's. Everyone, leave the new unit to me."

A course of 'Yessir' followed his orders as he and Kira were given the all clear for launch.

"Kira Yamato, Gunbarrel Strike Gundam, Lets do it!"

"Ryu Hisanaga, Dynasty Gundam, Engaging the enemy!"

"Liz Dante, Raptor Gundam, Lets go!"

"Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, Taking off!"

"Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Let's rock and Roll!"

"Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Lets cut 'em up!"

"Amy Sierra, Thunder Gundam, Launching!"

"Darknal, GINN Custom, Targeted and Firing!"

"Mu La Flagga, Hyperion, Lets show 'em how it's done!"

_Battlefield_

Everyone instantly followed their orders, and went after their assigned targets. Kira moved towards the Aegis, Chris and Liz headed for the defense fleet, Ryu headed towards the new unit, Darknal headed towards the CGUE DEEP arms, Matthew and Jordan moved against the GINN's and CGUE's lead by a new GuAIZ, while Mu and Amy waited.

_With Darknal and Ian_

Aboard his CGUE, Ian gasped slightly as he caught sight of the Forest Green GINN headed his way. His eyes narrowed. The _Archangel_ had scavenged a GINN, repaired it, and applied their Natural-use OS already? This could be trouble…

Activating the thermal energy cannons, Ian blasted a round off at the GINN.

Darknal mentally swore as the twin blasts of energy came his way, and narrowly avoided being gouged. He was, in that instant; intensely grateful for all the practice time he'd received, not to mention the extra thrusters. He took aim with his machine gun and began to let loose. The seventy-six millimeter rounds were all but useless against Phase Shift armor, but they'd be plenty effective against most conventionally armored mobile suits.

_**With Jordan **_

As Matthew went off to engage the GINN's, Jordan was now fighting off a pair of Golden GINN HM types.

Jordan looked at their mobile suit's colors. They were both Tan yellow, with some darker tan brown in cameo-style paint job.

"_Gelb team." _Matthew said_. _"_An Aggressor Squadron, Jordan, you need any help?_"

Jordan shook his head. "I think I got this one." he said. "You guys don't worry about me."

Jordan saw the two mobile suits swerve left and right, they were trying to confuse him. _Not gonna happen. _He thought. He fired a pair of shots from his Exia Kai's in beam rifle mode, near missing the two mobile suits. They stopped swerving, and then broke apart left, and right, trying to double team him.

Jordan accelerated to the one on the right. He drew out his left-hand Exia Kai in sword mode, and sliced. The GINN parried with its own GINN Sword. Then the second GINN flew in, firing its beam rifle. Jordan jumped forward, dodging the blasts, and parrying a swipe from the first GINN. He then fired a quick burst of Ingleside rounds at him. They hit, and the GINN lost its head.

_GINN_

_Dammit! _Rainer thought as his GINN's head was blown off, and the camera went dead. "Rainer, you alright?" asked the captain. "I'm fine." He said. "I'll try to get back to the _Hades._" "Good." The captain said. "I'll take care of him."

_Jordan_

_There goes one. _Jordan thought as the GINN limped back home headless. "Now just one left." He said to himself. The last GINN High maneuver type charged forward, firing its beam rifle. Jordan deflected the shots with his shield. When the GINN came close enough, he then charged forward, and rammed his own shield at it. The GINN was hit, the pilot was dazed, and he took this opportunity to whip out his beam sabers, and sliced it in half.

_Hades_

_Bingo. _Zar thought as he saw Orbirt's GINN explode. _There is only one man who could take down an aggressor team like the Gelb team, and survive. It has to be him. _"I will be heading out." Zar said. "Tell all forces they are weapons free on all enemies. But the Hero is _mine._"

"Yes, sir." Dren said.

Zar then activated his Custom ZGMF-600 GuAIZ. Painted completely blood red, armed with a MA-M12 G Beam rifle, two Picus CIWS's, MAMV03 Composite anti-beam coated shield with beam-claws, and the most resent acquirement, a beam saber. This GuAIZ, unlike the other models, has an enhanced engine, and compact battery. It can be in missions longer, and its speed is 3 times faster than any other GuAIZ, giving him the respected and feared name of the Red Devil of Endymion. "Zar Hellfury, GuAIZ Devil, Launching!" Zar stormed out from the _Hades. _

**Zar Hellfury theme: http: / www . youtube . com /watch?v=eu4tCWTyqds**

"_Ma'am! I've got intense head sources approaching at high speed! New contact launched from Aztec-class Battleship! Making good speed towards the Hero."_ Romeo said. Jordan was listening in on the transmissions on the bridge of the archangel. "_What is it?_" Mu asked. "_It appears to be a GuAIZ._" Romeo said. "_But it's moving three-times faster than any other model._"

From the screen on the katana, I could see Matthew's eyes widen in horror. "_Get a visual on it now!" _He ordered. Another screen popped up, and the GuAIZ appeared. Its whole body was a blood red color and was equipped with a wide-variety of weapons.

Jordan could see the fear in Matthew's eyes now. "_Oh fuckberries._" He said. "_It just can't be him!_"

"What?" Jordan asked. "Who is it?"

"_Zar Hellfury._" Matthew said. "_The Devil of Endymion._"

That sent more than just a shiver up his spine. Jordan has read all there is on Zar. He single-handedly sunk 3 Nelson-class battleships, and two Agamemnon-class carriers in the battle of Endymion. And he was heading towards Jordan.

"_Kid, stay as far away from that bastard as you can!_" I heard Ryu say. "_If that fails, Run._" Just then, The GuAIZ was right in front of Jordan. It's Omni-eye glaring at me. "_Pilot of the GAT-X001 Hero._" A voice came in through his speakers. "_Do you hear me?_" '_It's Zar!' _He thought. Jordan hand pressed the radio. "Yes, I here you." He said as calmly as he could.

"_Hm?_" Zar said. "_Strange, you fight like him, but you do not sound like Alen. Tell me, what is your name?_"

"Jordan Takeo." Jordan said, and after a pause, he heard Zar chuckle. "_Well, well._" He said. "_It would seem it runs in the family. Your father _was _a great mobile suit pilot after all._"

Then His eyes widened. "You know who my father is?" he asked. "Tell me!" Zar laughed louder. "Well, well, well." He said. "Even his temper runs in the family. Tell you what, defeat me, and I'll tell you everything I know about your real father."

Jordan then saw Zar's GuAIZ activate its Beam-Claws on its shield. It then charged towards him. Jordan gunned the Hero's full speed just to avoid the first swipe.

'_Shit he's fast!' _he thought. As he continued to run, Jordan fired volleys of Ingleside rounds at the Red GuAIZ. But it dodged them like it was nothing!

Jordan then drew out his Exia Kai's and switched them to rifle mode, and started shooting with them. Still missing! That's when the most idiotic idea came into his mind. '_I'm screwed either way'. _He thought.

That's when he drew his katana swords, and stopped dead and reverse thrust. His theory was that the GuAIZ's momentum when it stopped would cause it to hit his sword. He was half-right. The GuAIZ stopped, almost hitting the sword. But it dodged at the last moment. But its beam rifle was destroyed however.

"_Interesting,_" Zar's voice rang in. _"That was a very clever move, Jordan." _He said. "_You are definitely Alen's son._" Then Zar drew his own beam saber. "_Let me see your swordsmanship for myself._"

_Meanwhile With Ryu_

As Jordan squared off with the Devil of Endymion, Ryu made a charge towards the unknown unit.

The Unit flew past the Dynasty, and fired its Linear Rifle. Ryu backed away, however he was surprised when the unit actually kept up with him, and landed a series of hits onto his suit. However there was no damage thanks to the P.S Armor.

"What the hell?" Muttered Ryu as he tried to get some breathing Room, but the new unit just kept on charging forward firing its rifle. The unit them busted forward, and delivered a kick to Ryu's mid-section before turning around and facing the Dynasty.

Ryu heard the pilot chuckle. "_Nice Machine…shame about the pilot though._" The voice said. "_What do you say, Mr. Hisanaga?_"

Ryu's eyes widened. '_No…_' he thought. '_It…he couldn't be…_'

"_I got a bonus riding on this!_" the hauntingly familiar voice said as the new unit charged forward, and delivered another kick while Ryu was in shock, forcing him back again.

Ryu barred his teeth. "It is you." He muttered. "Ali-Al Saachez."

Ali laughed like a maniac. "_Ah, so you finally Remember, eh Ryu?_" he asked. "_Though…how could you forget the man who taught you everything you know? I didn't think I'd capture you without a little damage. Since the rife didn't work…_" he then activated the bayonet mounted on the rifle. "_I'll just have to cut you up!_" he shouted as he charged forward.

Ryu backed away, and dodged the attack. He then drew his beam sabers, and aimed for a stab, however Ali saw this, ducked, and kicked the beam saber from his right hand out of his hand.

Growling, Ryu then tried to attack with his second beam saber, only for it to be kicked away by another attack.

Ryu then activated his Trikeros beam saber, and aimed it forward.

"Just how many swords do you have?" Ali asked himself. "But you know what?" he then charged forward. Ryu made a series of lightning-fast swipes, but as if predicting the future, Ali managed to dodge them all. "I can see your moves before you make them!" Ali shouted out as his Bayonet collided with Ryu's Exia Kai.

Ryu then barred his teeth. He diverted extra energy into his beam saber, and actually started to cut through the Bayonet. Amazed, Ali backed away, and discarded the damaged rifle.

Ali then smirked. _So this is the power of a Gundam. _He thought. _Oh, I can't wait to get my own._

_Meanwhile_

_With Kira_

Kira grunted as the Strikes new Katana smashed against Athrun's beam saber in a battle of dominance before she slid out of the way of his second saber and returned the favor with a kick to the Aegis' gut that he dodged by backing off "Finally taking me seriously Athrun?" she questioned as the two suits circled each other both of their allies avoiding the area they were fighting in.

"_Yes,_" he admitted "_I have come to the realization that you are fighting for what you believe in, and I can do nothing to swat that, so I will answer your conviction with my OWN!_" He shot forward again and clashed with the Strike before suddenly shifting to the side and kicking out with one of his feet beam sabers only for Kira to block with the Trikeros before she backed off a little "_There will be no more holding back on my part Kira; I will come at you with everything I have._"

Kira smiled grimly in her suit as she felt something stir in her, she quickly recognized the feeling, Battle Lust, Ryu called it shortly before Artemis.

Kira steeled herself '_I need to do this._' She resolved herself and allowed the feeling sweep over her and focused completely on Athrun "If you won't hold back than neither shall I!" she stated as she activated the Gunbarrels and started her assault on Athrun.

_**With Chris**_

Chris narrowed his eyes as he dodged a blast from a GINN carrying a heavy beam cannon, to him the soldiers, while skilled and high in number, did not present the challenge that the pilots of the Le Crueset Team did, not that he wanted to fight them, especially when he compared his current opponents to the pair that Ryu warned them to stay away from. With those two their teamwork was streamlined and flawless, but these guys, while they worked together had many holes that he exploited in an eerily similar manner to that pair. "Is it just me or do you feel like those two CGUE pilots that Ryu warned us about?" He asked his sister as they tore through another GINN.

"_Yeah, I know how you feel,_" she agreed "_I guess we need to work on our teamwork some if we hope to match them._" She proceeded to transform into jet form and fired her Gatling Cannons tearing through another GINN before she moved back to back with the Raven as they protected each other "_I am so glad that Ryu made these upgrades._"

"Here here!" Chris agreed as he transformed the Raven and fired a series of missiles taking out some of the Missiles that were heading for the Menelaos.

_With Matthew_

In one hand, Matthew was firing his Trikeros beam rifle, while in his other hand he had his Beam Rifle firing away at the swarms of GINN's.

However, his danger senses then flashed, and he flanked left nearly missing a series of green beams that would have cut him up.

Glancing at where the beams came from, he noticed a series of funnel-like objects, similar to the X's DRAGOON fangs, however they were much larger. The Funnels continued to fire at the Warrior; however they were not as fast as the Fangs were on the X, and Matthew managed to use the Warrior's speed to avoid them.

Then, the DRAGOON's stopped firing, and they retreated to their source. It was a new mobile suit he had never seen before.

"_So you can sense them?_" a feminine voice called out. "_Strange…I suppose it is possible though…but that doesn't matter, for you are my enemy._"

With that, the suit launched a series DRAGOON's once again, blasting beam after beam as Matthew tried everything he could to dodge them.

'_Dammit, we won't last much longer with these odds!_' Matthew thought as he continued to duke it out with the new suit.

_Meanwhile_

_With Mu_

Mu grunted as he flipped his suit around in a back flip unused to the g-forces that went with such a move before he aimed at the GINN that attacked him and returned fire destroying the suit before noticing a couple more in bound and activated the Gunbarrels and started raining hell upon them. However despite the best efforts of both the Archangel's and their escorts' pilots they were slowly losing the battle as one of the escorts ships blew up in a fiery explosion "Goddammit!" Mu swore as he blocked a salvo of bullets before returning fire with his rifle and Gunbarrels "We're getting creamed out here."

Scanning the battle field he saw Matthew currently busy dodging the Monster's DRAGOON's as he returned fire while Kira was completely occupied with the Aegis showing a level of skill he hasn't seen from the young teen yet. Chris and Liz were in a no better situation as they were occupied by several GINNs that kept switching out tiring out the pair. Amy was busy fighting a team of GINN's that were attempting to attack the Archangel, Ryu was dueling with the New Enemy mobile suit, Darknal was fighting a CGUE DEEP arms, and finally, there was Jordan fighting the Devil of Endymion…and doing a fairly good job at it.

Cursing he ducked under a swing from another GINN he then drew his beam saber and cut the GINNs arm off before kicking it away into another GINN "This is gonna be a lo-o-ong day." He predicted as he prepared himself for the next wave of GINNs.

_Meanwhile_

In the Thunder, Amy took careful aim with her SMG and fired. The GINN dodged, but Amy had already guessed it would. She wasn't a good enough as a marksman yet. If she had her way, she never would be, either. But for now, that was a hindrance. She fired off another shot as she closed in, and then holstered the SMG as she dodged the retaliatory fire. She shot off her Wrist Gatling guns at the GINN, destroying the GINN's leg, then grabbing a beam Saber and swinging it forward, slicing the GINN in two.

Amy then glanced at her next target. '_Time to finish this._' She thought as she charged once again.

_Meanwhile_

_With Darknal_

Ian and Darknal danced around each other, the improvements to Darknal's GINN and the anti-beam coating on his shield allowing him to keep up with the better trained and more skilled pilot of the CGUE, though this was partially thanks to the DEEP Arms still experimental and improperly tuned equipment. They'd been in such a rush, assembling it and mounting it, then melding it all together that they hadn't had time to properly calibrate the CGUE with its new weapons.

The two finally gave up on the ranged fight as they emptied their rifles, and Ian didn't want to waste more power on the thermal cannons. Deciding against the laser sword as well, Ian flew in with just the GINN sword, the same one Darknal had.

The two made a pass, seemingly equal…

But the DEEP Arms shared a flaw with standard GINNs. A flaw Darknal's GINN didn't have.

The DEEP Arms didn't have a shield.

Darknal grunted in annoyance as his shield was knocked away, but he didn't take any damage, and in return, he'd managed to hack part of the CGUE's head away, partially blinding the pilot. He'd take that trade any day, though he didn't like being reduced to nothing more than a single sword.

Ian grunted in his own annoyance. This guy, though he was obviously a rookie, was good. Unfortunately for Ian, he was also something of a rookie. He had more experience than this guy, sure, but he was still the greenest member of the Le Creuset team at the moment.

Darknal's GINN then backed away from the CGUE, and drew out his Sniper rifle, activating the sniper mode in his cockpit that was similar to Ryu's and started firing at the CGUE.

_Meanwhile_

**Begin playing this song: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=MgB6fx2BmVk**

Flay and Lacus both sat in the cafeteria with Lacus doing her best to help soothe the worried Flay "I'm sure that your father will be fine Flay, have faith in your friends." Lacus said calmly as she placed a hand over Flay's.

"I-I do i-it's just I'm worried for them." She admitted "I-I don't want them to get hurt trying to protect my father because I asked them to."

Lacus smiled gently at the redhead "I'm sure that they will return just fine," she soothed "They are all strong in their own ways," *The Dynasty Slashed through the Cockpit of a GINN* "Each carry a burden," *The Strike and the Aegis clash again as one of the escorts blow up in the background* "But they move forward," *The Raven fires it short range energy cannons and flies through the debris of the destroyed suit* "And strive for their future," *The Thunder firing its gatling cannons and beam rifle at a volley of missiles* "And protect those precious to them." *The Hyperion launches its gunbarrels and fires off a volley of shots, each destroying a mobile suit.* "They all have a reason to fight" *The Hero throws its two beam boomerangs at the Devil, but the miss and the Hero grabs its Katana swords and charges forward *"And that is enough reason to keep fighting"*The GINN fires it's beam Sniper rifle at the CGUE DEEP arms* "For the hopes of tomorrow" *The Warrior dodged DRAGOON's from the QuBEK, and moves in with his Nagata drawn*"And to protect those they love"

Flay smiled at the pinkette as she felt some of her worry fade away.

_Battlefield_

Jordan dived as the red GuAIZ opened up on him. Despite the speed of the Hero, a number of rounds struck the Hero, but, of course, they had no effect on the Phase Shift armor. In spite of that, the Devil was good. _Very_ good, that much was obvious. Fortunately for him, The Hero had some tricks of its own up its sleeve.

Jordan let loose with both of his Exia Kai's in rifle mode, but the CGUE evaded.

"Clever," said Zar. "Take this!"

Zar opened up on the Hero with his machine gun, but to his surprise, even though many of the rounds struck this time, they had no effect on the armor. _I forgot about the Phase shift! Damn! _He thought.

Discarding the useless rifle, he fired a barrage from his missile pod, but I quickly destroyed them with the Igelstellung's

The GuAIZ now closed in with its Beam claws activated; Jordan blocked the sword with his left Exia Kai in sword mode, and activated his right hand's Exia Kai, slashing towards the GuAIZ as he did so. But the machine dodged, and lashed out with its fist, delivering a few punches to the Hero's head, sending him tumbling back. But the Hero then grabbed another one of the GuAIZ's fist, tossed him over his shoulder and kicked him away. But the GuAIZ quickly recovered.

"Damn," Jordan said. "This guy's good… better than me that much is certain." Then the radio crackled to life as the sound of Zar's voice came through. "_You are a formidable fighter._" Zar said. "_You are the first in a long time to last this long against me. For that, here is a tip of information on your father._" He deactivated his beam claws, and drew his beam saber. "_His name is Alen Takeo._" He said. "He _was a mercenary fighting for both the E.A and Z.A.F.T. If you want more, you'll have to last longer._" He then charged forward, but he had his duel-katana sword ready and caught his charge.

_With Ryu_

Ryu and Ali's battle continued, Ryu continued to become more and more frustrated at his former teacher. Every move Ryu Made, Ali found out a way to counter it.

"_I honestly thought you'd put up a better fight that this, Ryu!_" Ali shouted on the Comm as his Plasma Sword clashed with Ryu's Exia Kai. "_I suppose living at ORB made you soft!_"

"Shut up!" Ryu shouted as he tried to force Ali's ReCAT back, however Ali twisted to the left, got behind Ryu, and delivered a kick to the Dynasty's back.

"_I still wonder why you decided to go MIA on us, Ryu._" Ali said. "_You were one of us, you fought for us, is this about what I did? Or is this about that little bitch Yuna?_"

_That _snapped Ryu's last nerve. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he shouted as he switched his Exia Kai into rifle mode, and activated his Trikeros beam saber, and charged forward. "YOU HAVE _NO _RIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!"

Ali laughed like a maniac as he dodged Ryu's Rampage. "_So what?_" He replied. "_She's dead, your Squad save Mu is dead, and you can't protect anything!_"

Ryu's grip tightened as he continued his attack. '_Stay calm…stays calm…_' he thought. '_He wants you to lose your temper…just stay calm…_'

As Ryu was doing this, Ali noticed he was almost out of energy for his ReCAT. '_Well, so much for that bonus._' He thought. "Unfortunately Mr. Dragon, this is where we part ways once again." He said as he transformed his ReCAT into MA mode. "See you later!" and with that he flew back towards the Vesalius.

As Ali retreated, Ryu glared at the Mobile armor. Sighing, he returned the issue at hand, and headed to assist his friends.

_With Athrun_

As the Strike and Aegis clashed once more neither paid any attention to the battle around them, they were completely focused on one another. If Athrun wasn't fighting her right now, he wouldn't have believed that this was Kira he was fighting, the skill Kira was showing was completely different than from the other time they had fought, she truly was putting her all into it, and matching Athrun blow for blow so far. It wasn't all that surprising to him really, sure she was slightly clumsy. But she had a learning curve like no other, and with her being wing mates with The Dragon and Hawk of Endymion she was definitely bound to pick up pointers and tips from the two veterans.

In all honesty he was actually enjoying the fight with Kira, neither were aiming for 'lethal' hits and were pushing each other to new limits, but he was also aware that it may not remain that way either '_but it's like Ian said: It's what I do that matters._' He reminded himself and he transformed into mobile form and fired the Scylla main cannon and destroyed Kira`s last Gunbarrel, that however pushed his energy into the red zone. Both fighters paused as they stared at each other trying to guess at what the other would do. Athrun was the first to make his move as he saluted and turned the Aegis away, somehow knowing Kira wouldn`t attack "See ya Kira." He simply said with a hint of a smile.

_With Kira_

"See ya Athrun." Kira replied as she turned her suit to the Archangel and started making her way there. As awareness returned to her she made note of the fact that the Menelaos was the last remaining ship aside from the Archangel and the pair were holding strong against the tide of GINNs with the other Mobile Suits acting as their stalwart guardians supported by the remaining Moebius' "This is Kira Yamato heading back for resupply!" She called out on the allied channel and immediately a squad of Moebius' broke off and formed up around her.

"_Allow us to escort you back Ensign Yamato._" The squad commander said as they flew towards the Archangel "_It's the least we can do for you keeping the Aegis off our backs!_"

Kira smiled briefly and had the Strike salute the Squad as she landed on the catapult "Can you load up the Aile pack please?" she asked as they removed the now useless Gunbarrel Pack.

"_Will do,_" Mir answered and a short while later Kira and the Strike were back out in space and she rejoined the others in the defensive line.

"_Hey Kira!_" Ryu called "_Got some news for ya from Captain Hoffman of the Menelaos, His men have christened you the Valkyrie of Heliopolis, after they saw you're performance against the Aegis, which by the way you did damn well at._"

Kira smiled at the praise "Why Valkyrie though?" she asked confused as she started firing at the remaining GINNs.

"_It's an Old Norse myth,_" One of the Moebius Pilots explained "_They were the guides of the fallen souls of warriors leading the best of them to Valhalla, not only that, but they were considered the strongest female warriors, aside from the goddess, in existence._"

"_This is Hoffman,_" The Captain cut in "_Save the celebrations till we're finished will ya's._"

_Meanwhile_

Jordan growled, now completely fed up with Zar. He grabbed hold of both Boomerangs, tossing them. Zar dodged both of them, and managed to avoid the follow-up swipes with his Exia Kai swords. He then landed a kick into Zar's face, forcing him to fall back… and behind the inferno, he snapped off a half-dozen shots with the Exia Kai's in Rifle mode, several of them connecting with Zar's GuAIZ, blowing away the head, the shield arm, the rifle, and damaging the right leg.

Zar smiled. "You are good," he said. "I leave with this last tip of information. I know that your Father is Alive. He is a good man, and an expert Mobile suit pilot. He would be very proud of you." He then contacted the _Hades. _"Dren, I'm withdrawing!"

Jordan's confrontation with Zar settled, he took a quick moment to recollect what he had learned. _So the Father I knew for years isn't my real Father. _He thought. _But my real father is alive, and a mobile suit pilot…but I have no idea where he is._

Jordan pushed that thought aside until he got out of that mess. He then moved forward to help Matthew in fighting off the unknown.

_Meanwhile_

Matthew dodged another shot from the QuBEK's beam cannons. Then quickly twisted to the left to avoid a shot from another DRAGOON. '_I am REALLY starting to get pissed off by these god Damn DRAGOON's!_' he thought loudly as he tried to find some breathing room. One of the DRAGOON's maneuvered behind him, and fired. However the DRAGOON's beam was caught as the Hero appeared and uses its shield to deflect the hit. "You're getting sloppy Matt!" Jordan said. "I think your losing your touch!"

Matthew sighed as the Warrior and Hero then went back to back, with the Hero's Exia Kai's Drawn, and the Warrior's Nagata drawn as well.

"_This is Commander Hellfury to all Zaft Personnel in the vicinity._" Zar's voice came through. "_We are taking too many losses. We are withdrawing._"

"_Sir?_" the pilot of the QuBEK asked.

"_We are taking too many losses, Soma._" Zar said. "We have to withdraw now."

Soma sighed. "_Understood sir._" With that, the QuBEK, along with the other enemy forces, withdrawed.

"_Did…did we just win?_" Liz asked on the comm.

"_Ya…we won_." Ryu said as he sighed.

"YEEHAW!" Jordan shouted as he pumped his hands into the air. "We did it! We fucking did it! I knew we could pull through!"

"_Ya got that right Brotha!_" Matthew said. "_Come on; let's get a victory party going on!_"

_Later_

A short while later found our heroes in the hanger with a slight celebration at their first full outright victory against ZAFT as they waited for Captain Hoffman and Vice Minister Allster to come aboard "That was intense," Kira said as she sat beside Ryu on a crate of supplies pick up from the debris "I think I might have experienced the Battle Lust."

"Really, are you feeling alright?" Ryu asked in concern as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I feel fine," Kira assured "Tired, but fine."

Ryu's response was cut off when a shuttle entered the hanger and opened up to allow Hoffman and George to disembark. The entire crew that was present saluted sharply and relaxed once Hoffman returned the salute "Can anyone tell me where Flay is at please?" George asked getting straight to the point of him coming over.

The crew was spared having to answer when a shout of "Daddy!" resounded through the ship as Flay appeared followed by the rest of the Heliopolis volunteers and bridge crew.

The crew left the pair be as they had their reunion and focused on Hoffman as he spoke with the pilots "The EA owes you a great debt that we may never be able to repay." He said to the as he shook each of their hands "Know that if you need any assistance whatsoever myself and my crew will be willing to help you in any way we can."

"Thank you sir," Ryu said as the pilots saluted him that Hoffman proudly returned "It was our honor to be able to-"

"No need for all that diplomatic crap Hisanaga," Hoffman interrupted "We both know you suck ass at it."

The pair shared a laugh before Hoffman turned to Kira "Young miss we owe you for not only keeping the Aegis at bay but forcing him to retreat as well, who knows how bad it would have been were you not here, be proud Valkyrie." He turned to Liz and Chris "If it weren't for the two of you holding the Lines than chances are the Menelaos would have been lost as well, I thank the two of you for putting your lives on the line and protecting my life and the lives of the crew and our vice-minister. Thank you Midnight Raven and Rising Raptor." Then he turned to Amy. "For such a young girl, even by Coordinator standards, your skills shine above even some of the toughest Zaft has. Well done, Goddess of Thunder." He then faced Darknal. "Even though this was your first sortie, you prove to be a more than capable mobile suit pilot for taking on a CGUE DEEP arms, and your Aim with the Sniper rifle was perfect and true. Thank you Marksmen of Heliopolis." Next he turned to Matthew and Jordan. "You two managed to not only take on an unknown mobile suit, but also the Devil of Endymion. Your successes allowed us to shine into Victory. For that, we are forever in your debt Silver Warrior, and Golden Hero." Lastly he turned to Mu "And La Flagga, your legend grows with each passing day doesn't it?"

Mu chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish expression "Well I didn't do as much as they did sir, they deserve the credit." He said gesturing to the G-weapon pilots who each sported a light blush at all of the attention they were receiving.

Hoffman chuckled and turned to Ramius "I hear that you have the daughter of Siegel Clyne onboard, is that true?" he questioned

"Yes sir," Matthew answered for Murrue surprising them "She is under my protection and the protection of the rest of the pilots until we reach ORB where we can send her back to the PLANTs."

Hoffman nodded "Good thinking Takeo," he commended "Blue Cosmos will think twice of trying something if all eight of you are watching over her, I'd rather they not sully the EA's reputation even further by using a civilian as a bargaining chip."

Ryu nodded in acknowledgement "If you'll excuse us sir we have had a very long day and would like to get some rest." Ryu said with a salute before the pilots left the hanger to get changed. In the Change room Ryu sighed as he stretched out his back "I had forgotten what it was like to fight odds like that, I honestly thought we had lost there for awhile, but it seems that Jordan's victory boosted our morale and lowered there's quite a bit."

Jordan blushed at the praise and tried to brush it off. "I guess it was nothing." He said. "Nothing!" Matthew blurted out. "Bro, you went toe-to-toe with _THE _Devil of Endymion, And _Lived! _Not only had that, but you even given that Devil a run for his money!"

"Don't worry about accepting credit kid." Mu laughed "You guys deserve it after what the six of you have done, just don't let it go to your head and become all cocky. We'd have to knock ya down a few pegs then." Everyone laughed at that. However, Kira then noticed Ryu's far-off look. "Ryu, are you Ok?" She asked.

Ryu sighed. "Ya, Kira. I'm fine." He lied. But she wasn't convinced. "Bull. Ryu, what happened in that battle with that new unit?"

"I was a little curious about that too." Mu said. "Usually it would have taken you a shorter time to deal with a new unit like that."

Ryu then sighed again. "Alight, alright." He said. "I'll tell you…Mu…the pilot of that thing…Was Ali." With that, Mu's eyes widened. "That bastard's still alive?" he hissed.

"Apparently so." Ryu said. "And now he seems to be a mercenary for PMC trust."

"Wait, Ali?" Chris asked, curiously.

"Ali Al Saachez." Ryu answered. "He trained all of us how to use our machines. He was a Natural ace who could actually pilot a mobile suit at a Coordinator level. But the one problem we didn't find out until Junius 7…was that he was a Blue Cosmos Member." Ryu sighed heavily. That was when Matthew's eyes flew wide. "He was the one, wasn't he?" He asked, bringing a questioned look from Jordan. "He was the one piloting that Dark Red CGUE? The one that fired the Nuke?" that gained a gasp from Darknal, Chris, Liz, and the other pilots. Ryu nodded. "Yes." He answered. "We managed to destroy all of the other Nuke-carrying Moebius's, however Ali took one of the intact nukes, and set it off on a random shot at the Plants. Me, Mu, and the other Zaft pilots tried to stop it…but we failed." Ryu growled ever so slightly. "The bastard then ran away…and I never saw him since."

"So that's why you had a hard time?" Darknal asked. "The very person that trained you was your opponent?" Ryu nodded.

"Right now, that doesn't matter." Jordan said, surprising the others. "He's not here right now, so we need to focus on getting some rest, and preparing for our next fight."

The others nodded as they left the change room each heading for their specific dorm looking to simply get some sleep and to prepare for the next day.

Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU

**AN: DAMN! 16,162 words in total! Longest chapter in this fic thus far! Took me a few days, but I finally got it all down! And the next chapter is the last battle before they meet up with the 8th fleet! And ya'll know what that means, right? **

**Anyways, here are the mecha from this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-1004 QuBEK  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Mass Produced Newtype-use Assault mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x Palm-mounted beam cannons; 2 x Wrist-mounted beam Saber

**Optional Armament:** 30 x DRAGOON funnels

**Pilot(s):** John Cypher, Rau Le Crueset, Soma Peres  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Based off of the AMX-004G Qubeley Mass Produced Type  
><strong>Color:<strong> Dark Blue with Black Trim

Rau Le Crueset Custom: White

Soma Peres Custom: Pink  
><strong>Info:<strong> The Prototype unit for ZAFT mass-produced Newtype mobile suits

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-109 REcat  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype transformable attack mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> Vibroblade, holstered on hop, hand-carried when in use; Defense Rod, left elbow mounted; 20mm Cannon;

**Optional Armament:** Linear Rifle;

**Pilot(s):** Patrick Colasseur, Ali Al Saachez  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the AEU-09 Enact  
><strong>Color:<strong> Pale Green

**Ali Custom:** Dark Red  
><strong>Info: <strong>The REcat was based off of stolen date from the E.A Aviator, but it is in all intents and purposes a Rip-off.

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-1017 'GINN Darknal Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom General Purpose mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Advance Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors Range unknown,  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 28mm Shield Vulcan mounted on right shoulder; 2 x Beam Saber, holstered on hips, hand-carried when in use;

**Optional Fixed Armament:** MA-M3 Heavy Blade, holstered on back, hand-carried when in use; GuAIZ Composite shield, mounted on left forearm;

**Optional Armament:** 57mm Beam Rifle; MA-22Z prototype high density beam sniper; M66 Canis Short-Range Guided Missile Launcher; Barrus Heavy Ion Cannon; M68 Cattus 500mm Recoilless Rifle  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Christopher 'Darknal' Thake

**Appearance:** Just Imagine a GINN, only it has the GuAIZ's thrusters.  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Forest Green with black trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> Darknal's Customized GINN with GuAIZ thrusters so that it can fly in the earth's Atmosphere.

_**Aztec**_**-Class:**

**Class: Aztec**

**Unit Type: Super Battleship**

**Manufacturer: Zaft**

**Ships of the Line: Aztec, Hades, Hydra, Odin, **

**Operator(s): Principality of Ibaz**

**First Deployment: Unknown**

**Length: 250 Meters**

**Width: 102 Meters**

**Equipment and Design Features: Sensors range unknown**

**Fixed Armaments: 5x Duel-Barrel High-energy beam cannon, 2x duel Barrel Secondary beam cannon, 20x Tri-barrel CIWS, 6x Missile Launcher**

**Mobile Weapons: 20 **

**Capitan(s): Dren Kabal**

**Colors: Red**

**Author's Notes: looks like the Rewloola-Class battleship **

**\/\/\/\/\/**

**\/\/\/\/**

**\/\/\/**

**\/\/**

**PRESS THE BUTTON AND LEAVE THE REVIEW! IT ISN'T THAT DIFFICULT AND ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ARE POSSIBLE! REVEWS MAKE ME UPDATE FASTER!**

**\/**


	9. Chapter 8: The Hero Awakens

"Speaking"

"_Radio_"

'_Thoughts_'

_Flashbacks_

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

_**Archangel**_

The mood on the experimental carrier was a mixture of celebration and mourning, they had their first outright victory against ZAFT, but it came at the heavy cost of two escort ships full of fellow soldiers and pilots. Flay's father had transferred to the Archangel much to Flay's delight and happiness. Ryu had been busy with helping Johanna with minor repairs to that the mobile suits had taken, mostly it was minor dents and scratches, Mu's Hyperion had lost a gunbarrel and had taken some minor scrapes and dents, the Raven had an impressive scratching to the faceplate from a GINN who had been lucky for all of two seconds, Chris requested that the damage was not to be completely repaired for psychological effects, but that was the only notable thing for damages, he also had a secret adjustment he made to the color job on the G-weapons that he has not revealed yet.

Kira had been busy making some final tweaks to Mu's OS and copied all of the data as per Ryu's request to give to the Morgenrate engineers back in ORB and had helped Ryu a little with the repairs even though he didn't tell her of his secret project. The bridge crew had been occupied with working together with Menelaos to station the survivors of the Escorts pilots and working on detecting the enemy. Liz and Chris had been doing non-stop simulations practicing on their teamwork and pushing themselves to new limits.

Darknal has been practicing with his sniping skills on the GINN, and Ryu was very surprised that his aim was not only spot on, but even on par with Ryu's own aim. Hikari has also been spending some time in the simulators as a back-up pilot in case something was to happen to one of the others. Matthew was still keeping watch over Lacus, and in time, the two continued to grow closer together. Though he would never admit it, Matthew has probably fallen for the Pink Princess.

While this was going on, Jordan and Amy made minor adjustments to the Thunder and Hero, but nothing much. They've been too busy in their room…making up lost time.

"So that pretty much sums up the crew reports," Mu said as he and Natarle stood in front of Murrue "Morale has skyrocketed since the rendezvous with the Menelaos and the defeat of the ZAFT forces."

"And the pilots?" Murrue asked "How are they doing?"

"They're all doing just fine," Mu reassured "Just need to make sure that Liz, Chris, Hikari and Darknal take a break from the simulators long enough to get some sleep and food while Ryu and Kira have been occupied with final tuning and maintenance, Kira pretty much keeps Ryu in check so there is no need to worry about anything to traumatizing happening to the maintenance crews. Matthew's still watching over Lacus, and I highly suggest _not _to disturb Amy and Jordan at the moment." He chuckled a bit at the end.

Murrue smiled and nodded before turning to Natarle "How are the civilians holding up?" she asked in concern.

"The civilians are doing fine," Natarle answered crisply "With Mr. Allster among them they have relaxed slightly knowing that they'll be able to go home soon."

Murrue sighed in relief "That's good to hear," she said honestly "Let's just pray that they do not attack us."

_Gamow_

Mark sighed as he looked the report over, Rau and Athrun had engaged the enemy with superior forces and had lost and were forced to retreat and resume their search for Miss Clyne '_They're getting stronger with every fight,_' Mark mused as he stared out the window '_We once had the advantage of over half of them being complete rookies, but now Intelligence are saying they have each earned an individual call sign and that the pilot of the Strike managed to fight Athrun to a stalemate._' He groaned and rubbed his temples '_Still doesn't change our orders though, we will blitz them right before they join up with Halberton's fleet, we will have ten minutes to destroy the legged ship before we are in the 8th fleet's airspace.' _He stood up and strode to the door "Let us pray that this doesn't get any harder." He said out loud as he made his way to the bridge to give the briefing.

_Meanwhile_

Ryu frowned as he looked over the projected course to 8th fleet "We'll be attacked before we reach the fleet," he stated to both captains "Most likely it will be a blitz before we reach EA space, hoping to at least sink the Archangel."

Hoffman nodded in agreement over the video link "_What can you tell us about the forces?_" he asked.

"Their led by Mark Cadillac, better known as the Samurai of Junius Seven," Ryu said "Then there is Jacques Maddox, Silent Death and Naleen Lynn, Golden Eye. The G-weapon pilots seem to mostly comprise of rookie red coats, no clue who though for the Majority. However it was confirmed by Matthew and Jordan that the son of the Devil of Endymion, Kane Hellfury, is piloting the Monster."

"_Not very good odds for us,_" Hoffman said "_I can take the Menelaos and the surviving pilots and charge them to hold them off._"

Mu Shook his head "It would be a waste of life Captain," he disagreed "I say we set up a trap and ambush them."

"Normally I would agree," Ryu said "But Naleen has that uncanny ability to pick out ambushes, no we need to do something else, something we haven't tried yet." Ryu stared at the map looking for something, anything they could use to their advantage and sighed "Right now all we can do is guess at what they're going to do, although they are quickly getting the hang of it our pilots are still more inexperienced than ZAFTs, our advantage lies in this ship, what is the status our armaments?"

"We have around 58 Hell-dart missiles left, enough ammo for our Igelstellungs for continuous fire for several minutes as well as around 20 rounds of ammo for our rail guns." Sai reported from his station in the CIC "We are also running low on ammo for the Raven's rail guns and the Raptor and Thunder's Gatling Cannons."

"Thanks Sai," Ryu said with a nod before turning back to the map "The best thing we can do now is to force it into a run-and-gun battle," he commented "We have the advantage in that as our suits now have a larger power supply due to the tweaks I made to the generators and our suits are more mobile than theirs 'Course we don't have to worry about the Warrior's and Hero's supply of energy of course."

"Agreed," Murrue said nodding "That is a sound plan, anything to input Captain Hoffman?"

Hoffman shook his head "_No,_" he declined "_Hisanaga's plan is a sound one, how soon will they attack do you think?_"

Ryu shrugged "I don't know, most likely right before we make contact with 8th Fleet," he guessed "If we can link up with them than we will be safe for awhile." He sighed and rubbed his eyes "I'll get the other pilots on standby, meet ya at the Hanger Mu."

"Sure," Mu said absently as he watched Ryu walk away concern in his eyes "He's getting exhausted," he commented once Ryu was out of earshot "I only saw him like this after Yuna's death, he's worried, and scared,"

"Scared?" Murrue asked "Of what?"

Mu shrugged as he headed to the door "Of failing again." He replied just as he left the bridge leaving a silent crew in his wake.

Hoffman heaved a great sigh "_I'll be getting things ready on my end._" He said before the video link closed snapping the crew out of their daze.

_Jordan and Amy's room_

Outside of Jordan and Amy's quarters, there was a sign that clearly said: 'Open at your own risk' and the sounds of moaning could be heard on the other side.

Inside, Jordan was passionately kissing his newly acquired Girlfriend as she gladly returned the kiss. They have been at this for well over…about a few hours or so. Jordan honestly lost count of the time.

When they once again separated for air, Amy and Jordan just stared at each other for a moment. "I pray this never gets old." Amy said, and Jordan chuckled a bit. "Same here," He said as she rested her head onto his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Jordan…can I ask you something?" she asked, and got a nod of approval. "When we get to the fleet…what are you gonna do?" she asked.

Jordan sighed. "I don't know, Amy." He admitted. "I just don't know. At first, I just wanted to stay to protect our friends…and hopefully get that Monster pilot Kane Hellfury." he balled his hand into a fist at the mention of his name. "But now…"

"It's me isn't it?" Amy asked. Jordan simply nodded. "You're worried that I'll stay? And you want me to be safe?"

Again, Jordan nodded. "Amy I…" he said "If you were too got hurt because of me I could never forgive myself. But…"

"Jordan." Amy said. "Let me make this clear, _you don't have to worry._ We're both experienced mobile suit pilots now. I can handle myself, and you can handle yourself." She then wrapped her arms around him. "And we can both watch over each other. I too want to stay. I want this war to end finally."

Amy then looked at her left hand. "Jordan…our innocence was lost back at Heliopolis." She said. "Both you and I have killed people now, and we've seen how bad this war really is." She then stared straight into his eyes. "Should we fight, trying to end the war? Or should we return to peace, knowing how fragile it is?"

Jordan sighed. "When did you get so good with speeches like that?" he asked, and Amy giggled. "It just seemed like a good thing to say." She said. "So now what?"

"Now…" Jordan said as he gave Amy another Kiss. "As much as I love staying in this position, we should get ready. ZAFT's probably gonna make one more attack before we get to the fleet. I can feel it."

Amy nodded, and hesitantly rolled off of him. After they got dresses, they then prepared for their next battle.

_Ryu and Kira's Room_

Kira groaned as she stretched stepping out of the shower and started getting dressed, she had been occupied most of the day working with Johanna and Ryu before Ryu had gotten called away for a meeting on the bridge to discuss their plan and she was slightly tired from the physical exertion from repairing and tuning the suits and definitely had a greater appreciation for the work Ryu did nearly every day. She entered the main room and sighed happily as she collapsed onto the bed she and Ryu shared while Lacus giggled from her own bed "Never again will I complain about _any_ work that Ryu does on _any_ repairs." She groaned making Lacus giggle some more. Lacus was moved from her old room to their room when George Alistair arrived so he could have his own room. Though he could put on a good face, he was still a member of Blue Cosmos and they didn't want to take any chances.

"That hard of work?" she asked slightly teasing making Kira groan.

"Urgh," she grunted as she sat up "A lot of Physical exertion, and from what they say it can be even harder in gravity, now I know why most of the maintenance techs are so burly."

Lacus giggled at her newfound friend "So what's it like in ORB?" she asked "I've only visited once or twice, but never for more than a couple of days."

Kira thought for a minute before answering "It lives up to its name of the 'Land of Peace'," she said finally "The people are happy and there are little to no coordinator and natural hatred and discrimination, I'm starting to worry though that that peace won't last, that sooner or later the EA or ZAFT will try and force the issue of joining them or be attacked."

Lacus smiled reassuringly "I'm sure it will not come to that," she reassured "My father is doing everything he can to come to a diplomatic solution and would never wish to attack ORB."

Kira smiled at the pinkette "Thanks Lacus," she said before getting an idea "How about when all this is over you can stay with me for awhile in ORB, me, and the others can show you the sights and everything."

Lacus smiled brightly "That sounds like it would be fun." She agreed just as Ryu walked into the room.

"What would be fun?" he asked looking between the two girls.

Kira smiled slyly at her boyfriend "Nothing much," she said "Just her staying with me for awhile in ORB."

Ryu chuckled lightly before losing the smile "Sorry to say this but we're on standby until we link up with the fifth fleet." he explained with a grimace and rubbed his face.

"Are you alright Ryu?" Kira asked in concern as she stepped up in front of him.

Ryu smiled reassuringly "Yeah I'm fine just tired that's all," he said hugging her "I'll be glad to get some rest once this is all over."

Kira smiled. "That sounds nice." She said before reluctantly slipping from his embrace.

"So cute," Lacus stated catching their attention and making them smile "I'm kinda envious of you though."

Kira stared at the pinkette "Why?" she asked simply "There definitely isn't much to be envious about."

Lacus blushed a little "Well you have someone that cares for you deeply, and loves you." She answered honestly "Me, I'm engaged to someone who is more of a sibling to me than anything."

Kira smiled in sympathy "Well at least he is there for you right?" she reassured making Lacus smile.

"Yup, Athrun's the one who made Haro for me." She explained making Kira jump in surprise at Athrun's name.

"You're engaged to Athrun, as in Athrun Zala?" Kira asked in shock making both Ryu and Lacus look at her blankly.

"Why yes, do you know him?" Lacus answered confusedly.

"Athrun's the one who made Birdie," Kira said "Guess he hasn't lost his touch with machines."

Ryu blinked as he suddenly realized something "He's the pilot for the Aegis isn't he?" He asked gently making Kira nod her head. "It hurts ya know, having to fight your best friend," Kira explained.

"Matthew told me about that too." Lacus said. "He hates fighting against his friends in the Le Crueset team, but he always says that his family comes first, and all he can hope is that in their future battles that they won't kill each other."

"Ya…" Kira said, before a grin appeared. "Ya know…I've noticed that you and Matthew have been getting…close recently." She said deviously causing Lacus to blush.

"W-what are you talking about?" she asked. "Oh, don't play dumb, Lacus." Kira said. "It's obvious you have more than just the 'being friendly' feelings for Jordan's Brother." This just caused her to Blush more.

"Well…I do Like Matthew…" she admitted "But…I don't know how Athrun would react if I…well…"

"I'm sure he'd understand." Ryu said. "Hopefully, he's still got some of his old self in there that Kira knew, and would just want to see you happy."

"I hope so…" Lacus whispered.

"Anyways, we should get going." Kira said as she turned to Lacus "Will you be alright here?" she asked.

Lacus nodded "I will be fine thank you though." She reassured with a smile.

With a nod the two pilots left the room and made sure it was secure before heading to the ready room meeting Liz, Chris, Amy, Darknal, Matthew, Jordan and Mu who had already changed into their suits.

**Begin Playing: 'Razgriz' from Ace Combat 5: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Glw32XBkL-o&feature=related**

"Alright our main objective in this battle is to buy time as we make our way to the 8th fleet," Ryu instructed as they sat around the briefing table showing their current course "I believe this is the point that we will make contact with the enemy," he stated as he pointed at a quadrant "At this point we will have ten minutes before we hit 8th fleet airspace, it'll be a run and gun style of fight so make sure you keep pace with the Archangel, Me and Mu will be launching early and laying out some mines that will hopefully slow their advance or possibly even cripple them."

The rookies nodded their understanding as they mentally prepared themselves for combat. Looking at them Ryu couldn't help but smile in pride "Guys," he said softly getting their attention "This may be our last battle together, and I couldn't wish for any better wing mates than you guys," he paused as he met each of their eyes "You all have matured from rookies who didn't know the first thing about combat and now I am proud to say, you are all aces in your own right, it has been an honor to fight beside you." The rookies grinned as Mu laughed "Now go see the add-on's that I made to _your_ machines."

The pilots picked up their helmets and entered the Hanger and each of the civilian pilots looked up to their mobile suits, on each of their suits right shoulder was an insignia, on Kira's was a black sword flanked by a pair of blue wings, on Chris' was a black Raven, Liz's had a eagle in flight, Amy had a blue figure with a lightning bolt posed in a spear-throwing stance, Darknal's had a similar Red figure with a bow and arrow pulled back and aiming, Matthew had a Silver/black cloaked figure with a Scythe in one hand, and a sword in the other, while Jordan had a golden knight with a cape, shield and sword, the sword pointing at a golden sun, which he grinned at. Both Ryu and Mu each had their personal insignia on their suits as well; Ryu's was a western dragon about to take flight while Mu's was a Hawk as it swooped upon its prey.

Also, on each suit's left shoulder was another emblem. It had a shield-like background, and in the center was a pale-skinned figure with a black knight-like helmet. Underneath was a painted ribbon that said: 'Demons of Razgriz'.

Jordan smiled and looked at Ryu. "You actually did it?" he asked, and Ryu nodded. "Well, it was a good book after all."

_**Flashback**_

_**Mess Hall**_

As Jordan walked into the mess hall, he noticed Ryu was sitting in one of the chairs, a red book in his hands. "Sup, Ryu." he said walking over to him. "Wacha reading?" Ryu looked up. "Oh, hey Jordan." He said. "It's just an old book of a friend's."

"Mind if I see it?" He asked. Ryu nodded and let him see it. "A blue dove for the princess?" He asked as he read the title.

"It…was a friend of mine's favorite book." He said. "I've been holding onto it for her." Jordan raised an eyebrow at this, and he opened to book looking though the pages.

"Who was it?" He asked. "Hu?" Ryu replied. "Who was the person this use to belong to?" Jordan asked. Ryu bit his lip. "Her name was Yuna Falcon." He confirmed. "She…was a leader of Falcon Squadron early in the war." Jordan nodded, and started looking at the pages, and he noticed that many of the pages had their word's worn away.

"She used to love that book as a little girl." He said. "And when she finally found a new copy, all of the words inside of it were worn away. So she spent almost every waking hour trying to remember every phrase of the book."

Jordan nodded, and he turned the page from a picture of a princess, to another picture that grabbed his attention. "What's that?" He asked, pointing it out. Ryu looked at what Jordan was pointing at. It was a figure, wearing a black cape-like armor, with white skin, and a knight-like helmet on its head. "Razgriz." Ryu confirmed. "Wait, Razgriz as in the Demon of Razgriz?" Jordan asked, interested.

"You know the story?" Ryu asked. Jordan nodded. "I know a little about that famous Legend too." Jordan said. "When History witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself. First, as a Dark Demon. As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies. However, after a Period of slumber, the Razgriz Returns."

Jordan smiled. "My mother told me about that story when I was younger. I didn't know where it came from though."

Jordan looked back at the figure in the book. "I guess this is where it originated." Ryu nodded. "Ya, thing is…" he laughed a bit "Sometimes we would call ourselves the Razgriz sometimes."

"Why's that?" Jordan asked.

"Earlier in the war, we sunk a Super Submarine Zaft built called the Scinfaxi. After that day, Zaft started nick-naming us the Razgriz Demons." Jordan smiled. "The Demons of Razgriz…" he said, trying it out "I like it."

_End Flashback_

Jordan, along with the others nodded in approval of the emblems. "Mount up!" Ryu shouted as they boarded their suits "You ready Hawk?"

"_Ready and waiting,_" Mu said with a grin as their suits were loaded onto the catapult.

"Ryu Hisanaga, Dynasty Gundam, Engaging the Enemy!"

"Mu la Flaga, Hyperion G7, Launching!"

The two suits launched simultaneously from the two catapults and flew in behind readying the containers holding the mines. '_Time to go._' Ryu thought to himself grimly.

_**End song**_

_Gamow_

_"5 minutes out, switch to condition red, all pilots prepare for launch."_ The Captain of the Gamow ordered as the ZAFT pilots boarded their machine.

"_I heard that Athrun and the commander couldn't take out the ship in their last engagement with it._" Nicol mused over the radio as they sat in their suits waiting for clearance to launch "_And they had nearly twenty suits too._"

"True," Mark agreed "But we'll show'em how it's done right guy's?"

A round of enthusiastic Yessir meets his question as his suit was moved to the catapult.

"Mark Cadillac, Heading out!"

_Archangel_

Ryu set the Dragon down atop of the Archangel's Bridge as he unslung his sniper rifle and began to scan for the enemy while Mu recharged his suit "Enemy contact," Ryu warn "Two klicks out!"

_"Understood,"_ Kuzzey responded "_Pilots are launching._"

"_Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Lets Rock and Roll!_"

"_Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Let's cut 'em up!_"

"_Amy Sierra, Thunder Gundam, Taking off!_"

"_Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam, Lets do it!_"

"_Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, heading out!_"

"_Liz Dante, Raptor Gundam, I'm going!_"

"_Darknal, GINN Sniper Custom, Targeted and Firing!_"

Ryu grinned as he saw the seven newly dubbed aces launch and land on the Archangel to conserve power before turning back to the scope "Enemy forces visual confirmation, Two custom Cgue DEEP arms, One Custom Cgue, the Lightning, Blitz, Grizzly, Duel, Buster, Shadow, Ghost, and Monster. They're entering the mine field; wait for it..., now light'em up!"

The entire minefield exploded as Sai remote detonated them engulfing the the entire area in an explosion "Waiting for confirmation," Ryu informed as he scanned the area as the dust clear "Tch G-weapons confirm unharmed and inbound, Cgue's are floating dead, unknown condition, prepare for combat! Pick you targets and engage!"

Ryu launched himself from the Archangel simultaneously as the other and boosted forwards as Darknal opened fire with his sniper rifle.

_Meanwhile_

Yuuka was shaking as they exited the surprise explosion that the three CGUE's thankfully survived with minimal damage only to swear as she and Lev were attacked by the Endymion veterans. "You won't touch me!" she shouted as she pushed her thrusters to the max blasting forwards at breakneck speeds "Just how fast is this thing!" she screamed as she was bushed back into her seat from the G-forces tearing past the surprised Dynasty and Hyperion.

"_Mu, did you just see that?_" They heard one of them ask.

"_Yeah I did._" The other confirmed.

"_God dammit,_" the first cursed "_I was hoping for a second that I was hallucinating._"

Yuuka finally got her suit under control and turned in the nick of time to see the Dynasty charging her with its Exia Kai at the ready. Reacting quickly she dropped her rifle and drew out her beam saber just in time to bock the blade. Growling she attempted to kick the suit only for it to spin out of the way and round house kick the back of her suits head, swearing violently she was nearly nailed by the Hyperion only for a pair of high energy beams to narrowly miss said suit as Lev and the Grizzly made their appearance. Firing again he forced the two suits away to allow Yuuka to recover "_You alright?_" Lev's concerned voice broke through her radio.

"I'm fine," she reassured "Just got a little cocky that's all."

Facing their opponents they both gulped as they saw the Dynasty's Beam saber activate while the Hyperion's gunbarrels activated "_We are in deep trouble._" Lev predicted as they could have sworn the two suits where grinning.

_**Kira vs. Nicol**_

"_Looks like we have a rematch_," Kira heard the Pilot of the Blitz say as they circled each other "_I hope I do better than last time._"

Kira grinned "I dunno, you had me on the ropes back at Artemis," she admitted "So maybe it should be me asking for better luck."

The pilot chuckled as he charged forward clashing with the sniper equipped Strike "_Nicol Amalfi._" He said introducing himself as he strained against Kira's katana.

"Kira Yamato." Kira responded as they broke away "I hope we survive this."

Nicol chuckled as he activated his Mirage Colloid "_Me too._" He agreed.

Kira grinned again "Don't think you're the only one who can do that trick." She warned as she vanished as well making Nicol curse in surprise "And I suppose you know both of the weaknesses as well?"

"_Yeah, I do,_" he confirmed "_This should be interesting._"

Kira chuckled as a pair of beams lanced out from two different directions from seemingly empty space "Very interesting."

_**Chris and Liz, vs. Yzak and Dearka**_

"Here we go again." Chris stated as he and his sister attacked the two mobile suits "Let's just hope our simulator training paid off."

"_Same here,_" Liz agreed as she spun her mobile suit into its jet form and fired a volley of missiles at the Buster while Chris fired his rail cannons at the Duel as it tried to close in.

Yzak growled as he blocked the rail gun blasts "I'm really starting to dislike these two." He snarled as he evaded another shot and closed on on the Raven only for it to dance away and outstrip him in Mobile armor form.

Dearka chuckle lightly as he fired off a couple of beams and launched a volley of missiles at the quick moving interceptor "_You dislike everyone Yzak._" He retorted "_But I'm starting wonder if these guys really are rookies._" He added as the Raptor lanced by him landing a couple of hits with its missiles doing surface damage "_Thank god for this Phase-shift._"

Yzak only growled as he locked blades with the Raven and began a struggle for dominance.

_Matthew vs. Nena_

Matthew's Scythe collided with Nena's own beam Sabers. "Sup, Nena." He said. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

Nena giggled. "_True, Matt._" He said as she kicked the Warrior away."_I heard you and your friends managed to fight back Zar and his teams in the last battle. You did d pretty good job, I'll admit._"

"It was really just luck." Matthew said as he drew his beam rifle out and fired as Nena evaded and fired her own beam pistol.

"_So, how's Jordan been?_" Nena asked as she put her pistol away and activated her Mirage Colloid, Matthew following suit.

"Very good, actually." Matthew said as he fired at a shimmer in space, only to miss and a beam to seemingly appear out of nowhere fired, but missed as well. "_Jordan told you about his little Crush, right?_"

"_Ya, what about it?_" Nena asked as she looked for Matthew's suit.

"Just a few days ago, he finally told her how he felt." Matthew said.

"_Who was it, and what did she say?_" Nena asked as she fired at Matthew's shimmer, only for him to evade and return fire.

"Amy Sierra, pilot of the Thunder." Matthew answered as Nena's Colloid disappeared as did Matthew's. "And she said she felt the same way."

Nena let out a girly squeal. "_Aww, I'm happy for him!_" Nena said as the two circled around each other again. "_I guess you had a hand in that?_"

"Well…I may have given him that final push." Matthew said, causing Nena to giggle. "_A job well done then, Matt._" Nena said as their duel continued.

_Meanwhile_

The GINN and Shadow danced around one another, now attempting to shred each other with their sniper rifles, a contest in which Darknal had a definite advantage, since he could use his shield for extra protection. However, the constant firing was lowering their energy, and neither pilot was willing to risk running out of energy. Johann grabbed his Beam Saber, smirking slightly, confident that he'd win…then internally cursed as the GINN grabbed a beam saber from its hip, the blade of frozen flame flashing to life.

Well, that put Ian at a disadvantage.

"Go figure," muttered Johann. "I really need to get a shield installed in this thing."

_Meanwhile_

The Hero and Thunder made a bee-line towards the Monster. Jordan was first to notice the changes in it since he last saw it. It no longer had its Heat Sabers, but instead two skirt-like objects on its hips like the QuBEK had.

"_So, you got some new toys, eh Jordan Takeo?_" Kane's voice echoed through the Radio. "_Well, I have a few new toy's myself…and I can't _wait _to try them out!_" with that, the Monster then activated all 12 of its DRAGOON's and circled them around himself.

"Ah, these things again?" Jordan muttered to himself. Then Kane launched the DRAGOON's at the two, Amy and Jordan stood back-to-back, and prepared to engage the Monster's DRAGOON's as they prepared to fire.

_Meanwhile_

_Mark, Naleen and Jacques_

"Well shit." Mark said as he drifted in space in his heavily damaged Cgue "How did we not see the mines?"

"_Their arming signals were off due to remote detonation._" Jacques explained as calm as ever "_Won't be able to do much but sit on the sidelines._"

Mark sighed as he turned back to the battle and winced as he saw Yuuka's machine being kicked by the Dynasty. '_This won't end well._'

"_Maybe we can do something,_" Naleen mused as she experimentally moved her mobile suits arms "_Because like this I can still shoot._"

"_Same here._" Jacques informed simply.

"Very well," Mark agreed as they all took aim "Focus fire on the Dynasty."

_Kira_

Kira growled as she narrowly avoided another beam that appeared from nowhere and quickly checked her power gauge '_I`m at about a quarter of power,_' she thought to herself '_Meaning he is just about out of power if Ryu's calculations are correct._'

And true to her thoughts the Blitz's grey formed faded into view as his suits main power failed, Kira switched her suit over to Phase-Shift mode and held her katana in front of the Blitz's cockpit before sighing and turning away "_You're not going to kill me?_" Nicol questioned curiously.

"No, there already have been enough deaths in this war," Kira answered "'I will not hesitate to kill, but avoid it if possible', Ryu told me that recently, and I will choose to follow that belief as well."

Kira could hear the other pilot sigh "_I guess I indirectly owe him one then._" He said making Kira giggle before she turned to survey the battle field, Chris and Liz looked like they had things in hand against the Buster and Duel, Matthew and Darknal were fighting the Ghost and Shadow, and Jordan and Amy were taking on the Monster.

Turning to Ryu and Mu her heart nearly failed when she saw Mu's Patriot missing an arm and a leg trying to get back to the Archangel while Ryu was desperately evading fire from the five mobile suits swarming him.

"RYU!" she shouted in panic and suddenly she had a vision of an amethyst seed shattering in her mind and a sudden wave of calm washed over her.

_With Jordan_

Jordan suddenly felt a massive headache and his hand flew to his head. '_What…what is this feeling?_' he thought. '_It feels like…hu?_'

_Ryu_

Ryu ground his teeth as the Grizzly's High Energy Beam cannons narrowly missed him but slightly melted his armor and quickly raised his heat blade blocking the fast moving Lightning's slash and had to forgo a counterattack in favor of moving out of the way from the golden DEEP arms CGUE's sniper fire while the black one fired with its thermal cannons. Glancing over to Mu he tightened his grip, Mu was to heavily damaged to fight and was limping back to the Archangel, reacting to an alarm he quickly raised the Exia Kai and luckily managed to deflect the Grizzly's Ram Cannon blast, but at the cost of his sword snapping in half from the kinetic force of the blast throwing him back.

"_RYU!_" Kira's desperate cry came over the radio alerting him to her approach.

Looking over his eyes widened in surprise when saw the Strike on faster than normal approach with its sniper rifle at the ready. Suddenly cutting her thrust Kira stopped the Strike just in time for the Grizzly's long range fire to sail harmlessly past her, boosting to the side she raised the sniper rifle and fired several shots in rapid succession nailing the Grizzly's weapons and destroying the left arm removing it from the fight, turning she raised the Trikeros Shield and fired the lancer darts at the Lightning as it tried to blindside Kira and followed it up by drawing her Katana and slashed at the joints connecting the gun arm where the Phase-Shift wasn't active removing the mobile suit. Pulling out her sniper rifle once more she dodged fire from the Three CGUE's and returned fire at the unmoving suits destroying the suits head and thus removing them from the fight. '_I-is that really Kira?_' he thought in awe as he watched his girlfriend display a level of tactics and skill she never had before '_And this sensation I feel, is she awakening?_'

The Strike's Phase-Shift faded as it ran out of power and Kira's concerned face appeared on the video screen her irises were dilated and she was panting for breath "_Are you alright Ryu?_" she asked in concern as the Dynasty floated up beside her.

Ryu smiled reassuringly "I'm fine," he soothed as he transferred half of his suits remaining supply to Kira."That was pretty amazing what you did Kira."

Kira blushed a bit. "T-thank you." She said. "But we still gotta help the others."

"Right." Ryu said as they made their way to their friends.

_Meanwhile_

_Chris_

"Fuck!" Chris swore as the Duel gave a massive kick to the Raven's midsection before raising his shield and blocked the beam saber from dissecting him and pushed away putting some distance between the pair and fired off a round from his cannons only for the Duel to block it on its shield and returned fire with its beam rifle while Chris dodged. '_This is getting ridiculous,_' Chris thought to himself as he kept the distance between the two suits '_He is way to good in close quarters for me to beat by myself but he is also agile enough to dodge my ranged attacks, this is definitely not good._'

Liz was in a better situation as she could easily outpace the slower Buster but unfortunately she was unable land any disabling or killing blows against the enemy, she also could sit still for too long or she would be taken out by the Busters powerful cannons forcing her to expend a lot of power by moving about constantly "Just fall already!" she shouted in frustration as she fired off the last of her missiles only for the Buster to intercept it with its own. Suddenly two beams lance at the ZAFT controlled suits catching them off guard, turning they saw both the Strike and Dynasty aiming at them with their sniper rifles.

_Kira_

Kira squared off against the Duel alongside the Raven and switched to her katana to conserve her power "I got your back Chris." She said over the radio.

"_Rodger that._" Chris confirmed as the two suits boosted forward with Chris colliding with the Duel allowing Kira to slip around at attempt to attack from behind only for the Duel to move out of the way and smash its shield against the Strike forcing it back, this unfortunately left him open to a rail blast from the Raven that caused the suit to stagger while Kira recovered.

Moving quickly the Pilot of the Duel boosted to the right to avoid the Raven's follow up attack before turning and clashing swords with the Strike and attempted to hit the suit with its shield again only for the Strike to stop it using its own Trikeros. Rearing her suit head back Kira lashed it out in a head butt in an attempt to force the Duel back as the Raven came in from the side tackling it.

Throwing the Raven off the Duel raised its beam saber to cut the suit only to be blindsided by the Strike when it appear stabbing its 'Amor Schneider' at the Duel's cockpit, the compact knives tore at the suits phase-shift armor and slid through one of the unprotected cockpit joints causing some of the panels in the cockpit to exploded into Yzack's face as his pained screams filled the comm waves.

_Dearka_

Dearka grunted as the Dynasty delivered a vicious kick to his mobile suit that was quickly followed up by a punch and another kick that sent Dearka tumbling "God dammit how can he move his suit like that?" Dearka wondered out loud. The Dynasty had rushed at his discarding its now useless sword and rifle opted to instead engage it hand-to-hand much to Dearka's surprise while Raptor opted to head back to the Archangel as its battery supply was nearly gone.

Dearka growled as he fired off a blast from his combined rifle only for the Dynasty to dance out of the way and boost forward slamming the Buster with a massive shoulder tackle. Regaining control Dearka was about to fire again only to freeze when he heard Yzack's pained screams, turning just in time to see the final part of the Strikes stroke he desperately made his way to Yzack's side "Dammit Yzak, are you alright?" he asked fearfully as he started dragging the Duel away meeting surprisingly little resistance.

"_I'll kill that bastard!_" Yzack raged inside his cockpit while clutching at his injured face "_I'll destroy that bastard machine and that bastard pilot as well!_"

Dearka grimaced as he continued on his way back to the Gamow hoping the enemy suits would let him go. No sooner, the Shadow and Ghost disengaged from the GINN and Warrior, and retreated as well.

_Meanwhile_

Jordan had both of his Exia Kai's in Rifle mode as he tried to destroy the DRAGOON's launched from the Monster. Amy's suit was right behind Jordan's as she fired her SMG trying to do the same thing.

Meanwhile Kane stood back and fired his palm cannons from a distance, smirking as he saw the predicament his enemy was in. '_I'm gonna kill you._' He thought. '_I'm gonna kill you, then I'll kill your friends._'

"Amy, Get out of here!" Jordan barked as he finally destroyed a DRAGOON.

"_Are you Crazy?_" Amy shouted as she took out one herself. "_You won't stand a chance against him alone!_"

"Amy, don't argue!" Jordan shouted. "You need to get out of here!"

"_Why don't you two just die together?_" Kane shouted as he redirected all of his DRAGOON's…

And aimed them all at the Thunder.

"_You seem to care for the bitch._" Kane sneered. "_Let's see how you act when I've taken even more from you!_" And with that, he fired.

"AMY!" Jordan shouted, and time seemed to slow as the beams headed towards Amy's suit.

Then, it happened.

Jordan experienced a vision of a Golden seed, shattering into an explosion of multi-colored light. As a sense of calmness swept over Him, Jordan's irises became dilated, and gold.

In the Hero's Engine, the ARC Reactor started to glow, and glow, and shin until it's normal blue light was pure gold in color. And in the cockpit, the words: "ARC DRIVE ENGAGED." appeared, and the Hero started to Glow.

_Kane_

Kane smirked as the beams aimed at the Thunder neared closer and closer. He noticed the Hero starting to Glow, but ignored it. And when the beams were just about to hit the Thunder…

The Hero in a flash of light pushed the Thunder out of the way, taking the hit itself…and they deflected right off.

"WHAT!" Kane shouted in disbelief. "Impossible! Completely Impossible!"

_**Begin Playing: 'Hero' By Skillet. Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=cV7vHjtzubw&feature=related**_

However, the Hero continued to glow more and more, until it seemed its entire body was made of gold. And the usually green eyes of the Hero changed into a Sapphire Blue color.

The whole battle stopped at this. The pilots, both Zaft and E.A stared in awe of the Hero as it positioned itself protectively in front of the Thunder. Both of its Exia Kai's in sword mode.

Ryu looked at this, and his eyes narrowed. '_So…it's begun._' He thought.

In the cockpit, Jordan was amazed. '_Wha…What's happening?_' he thought. But then, a voice he never heard came through the Radio.

"_If you are hearing this, Pilot of the GAT-X001 Hero, then you have awakened._" The elderly voice said. "_I know not if you have inherited my ideals, or if you have even been informed of them. But I must put my faith into you now. Hence, I now present too you the full abilities of your Unit's ARC Reactor. The ARC Drive System. Use it well, and live up to what the Gundam's were truly made for._"

Jordan blinked in surprise, but smiled. "Gundam…" he muttered "Whoever you are, I think you for this power…the power to protect my friends." He then glared at the Monster. "You're mine!" he shouted as he boosted the Hero Forward.

Kane growled and he fired two DRAGOONs, but as the Hero moved it projected an After-image making it harder to track, and the Hero sliced the DRAGOON's in half. He then charged again at Monster at three times its normal speed.

"Stay away! STAY AWAY!" Kane shouted as he deployed all of His DRAGOON's as distractions as he tried to get away from the Hero. However even the DRAGOON's couldn't keep up with the Hero's New speed, and every shot they got out was deflected by an invisible Barrier surrounding the Hero. One after one, the DRAGOON's was destroyed until only the monster remained.

Kane fired his Palm cannons wildly, trying to score a hit against the Hero. But the Hero's Agility was even more devastating that before, as It drew in closer.

Suddenly, the Hero was right in front of him with its Exia Kai's raised, and he then made two slashes that cut the Monster's arms clean off.

Kane screamed in fury as he knew he had to retreat. "_BASTARD!_" he shouted on the Radio. "_Next time…Next time I'll kill you! Dammit I WILL KILL YOU!_"

_**End Song**_

_Meanwhile_

Everyone looked at Awe at the Gold-glowing Hero. With both of its Exia Kai's drawn, and its eyes glowing blue. _Is that really Jordan? _Amy thought as she too was in awe.

Soon, the Hero went back to normal, and the O.S screen went back to normal as well. _What the hell was that? _Jordan thought. _It was as if the Hero became invincible or something. _He then looked at the Power. "Hu?" he said. Now the power wasn't at 100% anymore. It had dropped down to 85%. _And the power went down. _He thought. _What the hell is this Arc reactor anyways?_

Jordan set down on the bow of the _Archangel_ as He panted heavily. '_One way or another,' _He thought '_That sure as hell to a lot out of me.'_

"_That was amazing Jordan!_" said Chris as the Raven pulled alongside the _Archangel_.

"_Yeah, you were unbelievable!_" said Matthew.

"_Unbelievable is an understatement,_" said Mu, a cheeky grin evident in his voice. "_Their right, kid, you're incredible._"

"Not really_,_" Jordan said. "I honestly have _no _idea what just happened. Other than we're all alive."

"That's all that really matters now." Ryu said, landing on the Archangel next to Jordan, followed by Kira. "Jordan, you just took on the Monster with just Amy helping you. And that's Incredible."

"I couldn't have done it without her, or your training." Jordan said, smiling.

"_The 8th Fleet is here!_" came Tonomura's voice over the radio. Everyone looked up to see countless blinking red lights, as dozens of warships closed with the _Archangel_.

_We made it. _Jordan, along with almost everyone else thought.

_Later_

Jordan and Ryu's suits were the first to land. When Jordan exited the cockpit, he met Ryu just outside, grinning.

"You did pretty good out there, Jordan." He said. Jordan just shook his head. "Ryu, that was pure _luck _out there today." He said. "I don't even know what I did…other than that weird voice I heard after my Gundam started glowing."

"Voice?" Ryu asked.

"Some old guy's voice." Jordan said. "He said something about 'Awakening' and 'inheriting a plan.' Does that mean anything too you Ryu?"

On Ryu's face, he had a calm look as he glanced at the Hero. "No, not really." He said as the other machines started to land. "But we'll worry about it later. Right now, get out of that suit and get some rest." Jordan nodded, and he headed out of the Hanger, with Ryu following.

'_So It's come to that time, hasn't it?_' Ryu thought as the others exited their suits. '_First me, then Kira and Jordan…It's finally starting, isn't it?_' he glanced up at the Warrior and Hero. '_But are we really ready for this?_' he asked himself. He then shook his head. '_Not now…later._' He thought. '_Right now…We just need to relax._'

_Archangel_

Kira groaned as fatigue washed over her once her suit was safely secured in its docking area and slowly climbed out of her suit and floated towards the change room where Ryu met here. Ryu stared at her for a second before he pulled her into a hug, Kira desperately clung to him and buried her face into his chest allowing some tears to slip from her eyes "I was afraid there," Ryu admitted softly once the others had left "The funny thing was though, it wasn't of dying or failing the mission, I was afraid I wouldn't see you again." He gently kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her back "Thank you for saving me Kira."

"You don't need to thank me," she whispered "I was just as afraid as you were when I saw you surround desperately fighting them off, I was afraid I'd lose you." Kira looked up at him and brought his head down and captured his lips in a heated kiss while he entangled his fingers in her hair "I love you so much Ryu," she whispered once they broke away "I rely on your strength so much to push me through."

Ryu chuckled softly as he stroked her face "I rely on you too Kira," he said "You give me focus, something that I would protect no matter who the enemy."

Kira smiled at him and pressed her lips to his as they floated through the change room, they didn't stop even after Ryu bumped against the wall.

_With Jordan and Amy_

Soon after Jordan got into his bunk, Amy walked in. "Jordan." She said. "Thanks for saving me out there." Jordan smiled. "Don't mention it." Jordan said. "Truth be told, I was lucky that _I _didn't get killed really."

"Just don't make it a habit of saving my ass." She said, as they wrapped their arms around each other. "Well, it is an ass worth saving." Jordan said, smiling. She giggled. "If you were anyone else I would have slugged you for saying that." She said. "Well, I'm not anyone else, aren't I?" Jordan asked, grinning. Her reply was simple as their lips met into a kiss.

_Location Unknown_

"One of them has Awaken, sir." Said a Green haired, purple eyed male as he spoke to an Orange haired, man with gold eyes wearing an expensive Red suit.

"Good." The man said as he took a sip from his Red Wine. "Thank you for informing me Ribbons."

Ribbons Almark smiled as his master, Alejandro Corner, looked up to the skies from their mansion. "Then it is about to begin, then." He said. "Humanity's Reformation. For both Coordinators…and Naturals alike."

**AN: … :)**


	10. Chapter 9: Fighting for the Future

Opening Theme: 'Life Goes on Type 2' 

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=_EM4wyfwMrE

"Speaking"

"_Radio_"

'_Thoughts_'

_Flashbacks_

Chapter Nine: Halberton's Last Stand

_Gamow_

Mark sighed as he looked over his damaged CGUE, the mechanics had told him that it would be easier to build a new suit than to repair it from the damage it sustained from the mines and the Strike, it was the same with Naleen and Jacques' suits, they were to be receiving a new fresh off the line prototype suit that supposedly can match the G-weapons. He looked at the paper in his hands, it was the orders that he had received "We're all going to die." he muttered bitterly.

"Why do you say that?" A voice asked, turning Mark saw Yuuka and Lev approaching him in their uniforms.

"Simple," he said "Because the Dragon is going to lose it once he finds out who our new commander is."

Lev blinked "You're being replaced?" he questioned in surprise.

Mark nodded "I am now a regular red uniform pilot like the rest of you, I was demoted because of my constant failures to destroy the legged ship," he explained "Our new commander is Victor Amsel, he'll be arriving in a hour with our new orders and replacement suits for me Jacques and Naleen."

"But why would the Dragon lose it?" Yuuka asked "Does he have some kind of history with Commander Amsel?"

"You could say that," Mark sighed "Victor is responsible for the death of the Dragon's family."

The two pilots blink in surprise "Umm, we're in trouble than aren't we?" Yuuka asked nervously "Because I remember the last time he got pissed, and, well Athrun's suit got completely totaled in a couple of minutes."'

Mark nodded "Yes I've read the report," he said "Not surprised he reacted like that, surprised that Athrun isn't dead however as Ryu always has been protective of his friends and teammates." Mark sighed as he pushed himself off the railing he was leaning on "Well I best pack up my stuff and move it to my new quarters, see ya."

Mark walked off with his hands in his pockets leaving the two rookie red coats in the hanger "I have heard some not so nice things about this Victor Amsel," Lev commented making Yuuka look at him "He's a ruthless commander who doesn't care if innocents are harmed during battle, so long as they are Naturals, he is known as the Butcher of Ontario for his actions during the North America invasion in an attempt to destroy the EA government early in the war, Victor ordered the use of D-class equipment on civilian cities."

"What?" Yuuka whispered "How could the council allow something like that?"

Lev grimaced "Patrick Zala personally defended him saying that his actions would demoralize the Naturals," Lev explained with thinly veiled contempt "This later served to be a mistake when the Dragon of Endymion went on a warpath, of course this was before Endymion happened, the council had to call Commander Waltfield for him to team up with Commander Crueset to fight against the Dragon, thankfully they damaged his suit enough to force him to retreat, but not before he issued the warning that if he ever see Victor he will tear the fleet between him and Victor to shreds to get at him."

Yuuka groaned and hung her head while she leaned against the railing "I wish that my suit was too damaged to sortie." She complained making Lev chuckle before he moved off to check his suit.

_Meanwhile_

Aboard the _Hades_

"The legged ship is now with Admiral Halberton's 8th Fleet," said Zar. "Based on their position, we can safely believe that they are going to send the legged ship to Earth. But we should try one last time before leave our backyard."

"We can be assured that they'll protect the legged ship with everything they have. Even with their very lives," said Sayla.

"But remember, the 8th Fleet isn't our target," said Zar. "It's the legged ship and its mobile suits."

"Don't worry, we won't forget that_,_" said Sayla. "Though, to be honest, I'm not sure which would be the higher priority, if we can't take all of them out."

"_We'll get them all,_" growled Kane. "Just _leave the Hero and Warrior to me._"

"Foolish boy_,_" spat Sayla. "You're a skilled pilot, but you have no restraint or common sense. If we get a chance to take out the Hero and Warrior, we're not going to miss it simply because of your obsession with it_._"

"_You're one to talk! I know all about your obsession with the Hawk of Endymion!_" said Kane, but Zar glared at his 'Son'.

"Enough of your foolishness, your sister is right," growled Zar. "The Hawk of Endymion is only a single mobile armor pilot. But those mobile suits are an entirely different story, especially considering the Hero's strange ability demonstrated in the last battle. There's no justification for sparing them simply to give another a chance at destroying them."

"Thank you, Father," said Sayla, polite, but still frosty. "Now then, I believe our current forces consist of the Grun Team's two GINN's and two CGUE's one of which is an Assault type, The Indigo Team's four GINN's, the Schnee Team's five CGUE's, and recently the Schwarze team linked back up with us, and we have their eight GuAIZ R 'Hound dog's. The six GINNs from the Ziegler, while the Gamow can sortie the Buster, the Blitz, the Ghost, the Shadow, and the Monster, correct?"

Zar nodded. "That's correct," he said. "More than enough to break through the 8th Fleet and reach our target. In addition, I received word from the 6th fleet and their also giving us support. In the form of four _Inca-_class Light Cruisers with full Mobile suit complements, with two _Zulu-_class Assault Carriers."

Sayla let out a low whistle. "That's some firepower." She said. "I'd hate to be the E.A right now."

_Meanwhile_

From the _Menelaos_, a ship-to-ship shuttle launched its destination the _Archangel_. Given the close proximity of the two ships, it took no more than five minutes for the shuttle to launch, travel between them, and land in the _Archangel_'s hangar.

The shuttle hatch opened… and out stepped a well-built, blonde man with a mustache, wearing a white Atlantic Federation Earth Forces uniform, his collar rank insignia marking him as a rear admiral.

Lewis Halberton, commander of the 8th fleet.

Mu, the entire _Archangel_ Bridge crew, George and Flay Allster, and the seven civilian volunteers had gathered in the hangar to greet the admiral, and the actual soldiers saluted him.

"You know," said Halberton, floating down to the deck. "When I first heard of the collapse of Heliopolis, I was convinced that that was the end." Halberton grabbed Murrue's arms gently to stop his forward momentum and push them down slightly, indicating to Murrue to stop saluting. "What a joy it is to see you people here."

"You do us a tremendous honor," said Murrue. She saluted again. "It's a pleasure to see you again sir."

Resigned now, Halberton returned the salute, and he and Murrue stood at ease. "I was a bit worried when informed that you were engaged in a battle earlier," he said, referring to the battle just before the rendezvous. "Is everyone alright?" He looked around at everyone. Natarle stepped forward, saluting.

"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel," she introduced.

"I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, of the 7th Orbital Fleet," said Mu, introducing himself and saluting.

"Ah," said Halberton, moving over to stand before Mu as the two officers both stood at ease again. "We were fortunate indeed to have you with us." Halberton held out his hand and Mu shook it.

"Well, I wish I could've been of more service," he said. "Those kids did a lot more than I did, that's for sure."

"Hm," said Halberton, looking over to the volunteers. "And who do we have over here?" He, of course, knew perfectly well, but formalities and all of that.

"Sir, these are the students from Heliopolis," said Murrue. "They've been helping with the operation of the ship."

The instant Murrue finished, Halberton began moving forward, right past Natarle and the other soldiers, heading over to the civilian group. He landed in front of them and smiled as he looked them over, and he smiled warmly when he saw Ryu.

"Hello Ryu," he said, "I haven't seen you for what, two years now."

Ryu chuckled as he grasped Halberton's hand "Been to long Admiral," Ryu said with a smile "Glad to see someone competent is still in charge of fifth fleet."

Halberton nodded and smiled at each of the Heliopolis volunteers as Ryu introduced them "Thank you all for your hard work, I've received word from the ORB government and your families are fine, they were successfully rescued and brought back to ORB." Most of the others cheered, knowing that their families were alright.

Almost everyone, as Jordan just sighed, while Amy and Matthew put reassuring hands on his shoulders. "Ah, and you must be Jordan and Matthew Takeo?" he asked. Matthew nodded. "Yes, sir." He said.

"Should have guessed." Halberton said with a smile. "You both look just like your Father." Jordan's eyes flew wide. "You really knew out Real Father?" he asked, and Halberton nodded. "Yes, though he was here a week ago, he has already left." Jordan's expressions became grim. "But knowing him, he's probably very proud of you, though." He reassured.

"Uh, sir?" said Hoffman, Halberton's executive officer and the commander of the _Menelaos_. "We don't have much time."

"Right," said Halberton, turning his eyes back to the students. "I'd be delighted if later we have an opportunity to sit down together and have a talk," he said to them. He then turned away and left the hangar with Hoffman, Murrue, Natarle, Mu, Ryu, and Allster. Flay wandered over to her friends, staring at her father's back uncertainly.

With a light sigh, Neumann told everyone to get back to work, and led the volunteers away, save for the pilots. Flay left to return to the other refugees, leaving the Coordinator pilots alone in the hangar.

Back in the shuttle, another Earth Forces officer stepped out, a man about Hikari's age with blonde curly hair and emerald green eyes, wearing the same rank insignia as Murrue and Mu. His Uniform was a Customized E.A uniform and was a pale blue color. He looked over at the surprised teenagers, focusing on Hikari for a moment, gave a slight smile, winking at her playfully causing Hikari to blush a bit.

"Uh, who are you?" asked Kira as the Blonde-haired lieutenant walked over to them. "Why didn't you come out sooner?"

"I wanted to surprise Ryu," said the man. "He's an old friend of mine, so don't mention this to anyone else, okay?"

"O-okay," said Kira uncertainly.

"So, who are you?" asked Hikari. The lieutenant smiled.

"Lieutenant Graham Aker, at your service," she introduced. She held out a hand to her. "And you are?"

Hikari blushed a bit more. "H-Hikari Serria," She said, stuttering slightly as she shook his hand. Amy caught this, and grinned deviously. '_Oh, its Revenge time!_' she thought. "I'm her sister, Amy!" She said stepping forward.

"I'm Christopher Thake, but please call me Darknal." Said Darknal smiling.

"Kira Yamato," said Kira.

"Christopher Dante," said Chris, smiling.

"Liz Dante," Said Liz.

"Jordan Takeo." Said Jordan.

"Matthew Takeo." Matthew said.

"Ah, yes, I've heard a lot about you all," said Graham. "The pilots of the Thunder, Strike, Raven, Raptor, Hero, Warrior, and the boy who volunteered to pilot a salvaged hunk of junk GINN. Did I get that all right?"

"Yes, you did," said Kira.

"Well then, as one pilot to another, let me say that I'm impressed with what I've seen of your flying," said Graham. "Especially you, Kira, Jordan. What you did in that last battle was incredible."

"In all honesty, that was pure Luck." Jordan said. "I had _no _Idea how I did that back there."

Graham smiled. "Luck is a major part in piloting mobile suits, I should know." He said. "After All, I pilot one myself." The pilots blinked. "Y-you pilot mobile suits?" Matthew asked, shocked and Graham nodded. "I'm one of the few Natural aces that can at a Coordinator level." He said. "I was sent up here with two of our Prototype units."

"Prototype Units?" Hikari asked, interested. Graham nodded. "Yes, did you think that Heliopolis was the only place we were building those things?" he pointed at the Gundam's in the hanger. "Their bringing aboard two Prototype units that the E.A plans on Mass Producing. The GAT-X01E Aviator and the VMF-X02E Phoenix. I myself am Piloting the Aviator. But the Real problem is the Phoenix."

"What about it?" Hikari asked. Graham sighed. "We don't have a pilot for it." He admitted. "There are only a handful of people like me who can use these kinds of things so easily without a Natural use O.S. Besides, the 8th fleet doesn't have enough pilots to spare even if we did have a Natural friendly O.S."

"Could we see them?" Hikari asked. Graham grinned. "Of Course! Just follow me." He said, and the Pilots followed Graham.

_Later_

A short while later, supplies were transferred from 8th fleet tender ships into the cargo hold of the _Archangel_, where Murdoch and his mechanics were putting everything into place.

"We get two Skygraspers?" asked Murdoch, looking over the supply manifest. "Wait a minute! Those are designed for use within the atmosphere!"

He looked up to see the Skygraspers being moved into the hold… and gasped when he caught sight of the two units following them.

The first looked similar to an F-14 Tomahawk Fighter Jet. It was Tan with a yellow trimming. The Second unit was a little more bulky, and it seemed to have arms coming out of it, and it was complete Black with the exception of an emblem imprinted on the side that looked like a Falcon diving.

"Aren't those the colors of the Falcon of Osaka?" he asked incredulously at the last machine.

"You would be right about that." A voice said, and Murdock turned around to see Graham Aker and the civilian pilots plus Hikari head towards them.

"No way…" Murdock muttered as they passed by. "The Dragon of Endymion, Hawk of Endymion, _and _the Falcon of Osaka in one ship…"

Graham chuckled a bit at that, and then focused his attention at the two units. "May I present to you the GAT-X01E Aviator, and the VMF-X02E Phoenix." He stated proudly. "The GAT-X01E Aviator was designed as an Air/Space superiority mobile suit. Though its MA mode isn't perfect appearance-wise, it makes up for that in its MS mode. Its armaments are simple consisting of two Plasma Sabers, a prototype XLR-04 200mm 'Trident' Linear Rifle, a 20mm Machine Gun, 6 Hydra missile pods, and an anti-beam coated Defense Rod."

He then turned to the Phoenix. "The VMF-X02E Phoenix." He said. "It has not just two, but three different forms. Mobile suit Mode, Mobile Armor Mode, and MIX mode. Mix mode is a hybrid of both MA and MS mode. Giving it the body of its MA mode, but its arms and legs from MS mode stick out and is more maneuverable. The Phoenix is armed with two 12.5mm head Vulcans, a 55mm Gun Pod with an added Bayonet, 6 'Hydra' missile pods, and a Beam Saber." Matthew let out a low whistle. "Those are some fine suits." He said, and Jordan nodded.

"And the Phoenix doesn't have a pilot?" Hikari asked, and Graham nodded. Hikari looked at the Phoenix yet again. "Well…it does now." She said firmly, causing most of the other's eyes to widen.

"H-Hikari!" Kira said. "Are you sure-"

"I'm sure, Guys." Hikari said, smiling. "I'm a Coordinator too, remember? And I've been spending the last few weeks on the side-lines while you, Amy, and the others did all of the _real _fighting." She glanced at the Phoenix again. "And now, I can finally fight."

"Piloting a suit isn't as easy as people think, Hikari." Graham warned.

"I've already been in the simulator for Thunder, so this shouldn't be too much different. Right?" Hikari said.

"I suppose…" Graham said. "You'll have to consider that with the Captain first."

"So, does that mean you're Staying sis?" Amy asked, and she nodded.

"Well then, me, Jordan and Matthew are staying too." Amy declared. Hikari sighed. "Why am I not surprised." She muttered.

Chris grinned and followed suit "This ship needs _someone_ to pilot those Gundams." He commented smirking.

Liz grinned at her brother and followed suit "Someone need to keep your ass in line." She teased elbowing her brother.

Darknal rolled his eyes. "I _just _got my title as an Ace." He said. "I'd be a fool to leave now."

Now, the only person that hadn't decided to stay or not, was Kira. "No one would think less of you if you chose to return home Kira," Chris reassured "We'll be fine if you and Ryu return home."

"I-I just need to think about things." Kira said as she left them.

_With Ryu_

Ryu stared up at the Dynasty as the mechanics were fitting the new equipment that was transferred over "The Dynasty," he said as Halberton floated up beside him "I can't believe that they wanted to scrap such a suit, heh what was their loss was my gain."

Halberton chuckled as he looked up at the suit with Ryu "I still remember the day that you and Alen came to me with the plans for the Dynasty," he mused with a smirk "Such a powerful suit and the brass was hesitant to produce such a suit only to produce a handful of others of similar strength."

Ryu smiled sadly "If only I didn't come up with those design plans," he whispered "Than maybe Heliopolis wouldn't have happened."

"You're starting to sound like a bitter old man," Halberton commented "Regretting decisions you can't change."

Ryu sighed heavily "I feel old," he admitted "Look at me I'm 18 fucking years old and I already lost my family, the majority of my squad and a fiancé," he sighed again "How could I not feel old when some elderly haven't experienced what I have."

Halberton looked at Ryu with a frown "You still blame yourself for her death." He accused.

Ryu nodded "And not just her, but those at Junius Seven as well," he admitted darkly "I know I did all I could but still, I haven't earned my redemption yet."

"Yes you have Ryu," Kira said surprising the two as they turned to see Kira coming up to them "You earned it when you protected us, when you taught us how to fight so that we could protect ourselves and others as well, you gave us the strength to protect Ryu, I think that's enough to redeem yourself."

Ryu smiled at her and placed an arm over her shoulder and drew her close "Heh, I suppose you're right Kira." he agreed.

Halberton chuckled "Not even Yuna could get you out of those moods so quickly," he observed before winking at Kira "Thank you, I was just about to try and beat some sense into him."

Ryu and Kira laughed "Wouldn't be the first time that needed to happen." Ryu said before turning to Kira "I take the others have decided to stay?"

Kira nodded and sighed "I don't know what I want to do," she admitted "A part of me wants to stay and help protect my friends on this ship, but another part of me wishes to just go home and live in peace."

"An understandable feeling," Halberton said "After all you were thrusted into this situation unwillingly, so I can understand your wish to want to get out of it."

"Do not be afraid to make a choice using your heart Kira," Ryu advised "Life is too short, live your life the way that you believe will give you the least regrets."

"What about you?" Kira asked "What will you do?"

"I have already made my decision to follow and protect you Kira," Ryu stated as he pulled her close "No matter what you decide to do I will make sure you are safe while you do it."

Kira smiled at him and looked at her Discharge papers and tore it in half "I will protect my friends," she said confidently "And I will fight beside you Ryu and watch your back while you watch mine."

Ryu grinned back at her and pulled out his discharge papers and tore his apart, Halberton smiled at them "Then it's official as Rear Admiral of the fifth fleet I hereby promote you Ryu Hisanaga to Flight Captain and place direct command of the Archangel's pilots in your hands, if you say they will launch then it will be so," he informed "Kira Yamato for your actions in defending this ship I hereby promote you to Flight Lieutenant, you will be Ryu's second in command and when he is in absentia you are in command."

"M-me?" she asked shocked.

Ryu nodded "Sounds like a good idea," he mused surprising Kira "You have a good head on your shoulders Kira, not to mention that you are now officially an ace in the EA giving you a lot of weight with the other pilots even if you're a coordinator."

Kira blushed lightly as Halberton's aid came up to them and informed Halberton it was time to leave "Well I must be going now, I hope to see the two of you again in the future." He said as way of goodbye before he moved off to the shuttle heading back to his flagship the Montgomery.

Kira sighed contently as she leaned against Ryu "I don't know why but I feel happy," she mused "Why is that?"

"Maybe it's because you made the right decision," Ryu speculated "Or it could be the fact you know I'm not leaving your side."

Kira giggled and pushed herself up in his grasp to kiss him "Or maybe it's because right now I am simply in your arms enjoying my time with you." She countered making Ryu chuckle as they kissed again.

_Meanwhile_

"Discharge papers?" asked Tolle, looking at the papers he and his friends who had volunteered were holding.

"So we were soldiers all along?" questioned Mir.

"Assigned to the _Archangel _of the 8th fleet?" read Kuzzey.

"Though it was an emergency situation," said Hoffman, deciding to explain things to them. "The fact is, it's illegal for civilians to take part in combat. We want to avoid any potential problems, so this is our solution. You've been recognized as volunteer soldiers who entered the military when you came aboard. Don't lose those. Furthermore, any information you learned while on board is confidential, even after you…"

"Excuse me," said Flay from behind the volunteers, speaking up for the first time.

"You were not involved in combat," said Natarle sharply. "Therefore, you're not required to go through these procedures."

"No," said Flay, stepping forward. "That's not what I want to ask." Flay took a deep breath. "I would like… to join the Earth Alliance Forces as a crewmen of the _Archangel_."

Flay's words drew gasps of shock from her friends.

"But, Flay…" said Sai.

"You realize what you're saying?" asked Natarle, as thoroughly shocked by Flay's words as the volunteers and Hoffman was.

"Look, I'm not saying this just for the fun of it," said Flay. "I've thought about it ever since my father came aboard, when Kira, Ryu, Chris, and the others saved him from ZAFT."

"That means you must be the daughter of Vice Minister Allster," said Hoffman in surprise, unaware of the tension between the two.

"Yes," said Flay. "My name is Flay Allster. I… ever since I first talked to him when he came aboard, I've been thinking about everything. Everyone counts for something… right? The ship is understaffed, and everyone is certain that it can make a difference. I want to help with that, in whatever way I can, even if it's only cleaning the corridors or something to make things easier for the rest of the crew. After everything that's happened… I can't just walk away." Flay left unspoken her hopes that, somehow, if the _Archangel_ made the difference it was supposed to, maybe, just maybe, both sides would be more willing to negotiate a ceasefire and peace treaty. She was becoming increasingly sympathetic to the PLANTs, but also felt certain that, after the Bloody Valentine, they'd never accept a ceasefire unless the Earth Forces could manage to equal them. Even she knew that ZAFT was slowly, but surely, winning the war.

"Throughout all of this, everyone's been doing their best for this ship and everyone aboard… except me," continued Flay. "So… please, allow me to join the crew."

Hoffman and Natarle nodded slightly.

"Very well then," said Hoffman. "Come with us. We should probably discuss this with your father."

"I'd, uh, rather do that privately," said Flay. She wasn't certain what Hoffman and Natarle would think of her present conflict with her father.

Hoffman nodded. "Very well," he said. "Come with us. I believe he's preparing for departure with the Orb refugees even now."

With that, the two officers left, Flay in tow.

Sai turned back to the others. They all looked at each other.

"Like she said, the ship is still understaffed," he said. "And a war's still being fought, on Earth and in space." Everyone looked at their discharge papers.

Suddenly, Sai tore his discharge papers in two.

"Sai!" exclaimed Tolle. Mir gasped in shock as she stood up with Tolle and Kuzzey.

"What Flay expressed is pretty much exactly my sentiments as well," explained Sai. Then, he gave a slight smile. "Besides, it wouldn't be right for me to leave her alone, now would it?"

"Hm," said Tolle, before ripping his own papers in two.

"Tolle!" said Mir in shock.

"The _Archangel_ is still short-handed," said Tolle. "I'd feel partly responsible if sometime down the road, it got shot down."

Miriallia didn't hesitate after that, and tore her papers in two as well.

"You too Mir?" asked Tolle.

"If you're planning to stay Tolle, then so am I," she said. They then turned as they heard the sound of more paper ripping, and saw Kuzzey holding his torn discharge papers.

"You're all staying, can't expect me to leave," he said.

"You're a fool," said Tolle. At that moment, things between the three boys effectively degenerated into some playful name-calling.

_Meanwhile_

_Gamow_

Mark sighed irritably as he waited for the shuttle's passenger to disembark with the other red coats, finally the door opened and out stepped a 6'3" man with black shoulder length hair and viridian eyes, Mark snapped up into a salute "Welcome aboard commander Amsel." Mark greeted as Victor returned the salute.

"Ah, Mark Cadillac the famed Samurai of Junius Seven, a pleasure to finally meet you," Victor said pleasantly "These must be the other G-weapon pilots."

"Yessir," Mark said and introduced them each in turn "What are your orders sir?"

"We are to attack the 8th fleet as soon as you, Naleen and Jacques go over your new machines," Victor said and smiled "We shall show those damn primates who the real power in the universe is."

Mark swallowed but didn't say anything only saluted and moved to inspect the machines that came aboard for them, he had to wonder though, how did they produce new models so early after receiving the technical data only weeks ago. Sighed Mark pushed those thoughts out of his head and inspected his new Machine, the ZGMF-X01A Slash, Naleen had received the ZGMF-X02A Hawk and Jacques got the ZGMF-X03A Phantom. Meanwhile Victor looked up at his personal suit the crimson colored GuAIZ '_Soon,_' he thought '_Soon those dirty primates will be wiped out completely._'

_Archangel_

"So we're to descend to Alaska's JOSH-A base?" Ryu asked as he and the other pilots stood on the bridge while Murrue relayed their orders "I suppose it make sense to boost morale."

Murrue nodded "When we arrive we will receive our new orders," she informed "We leave once the civilian shuttle is launched."

"Hmm…" Jordan Hummed to himself. "Something on your mind?" Ryu asked.

"I don't know…" He admitted. "Recently I've been getting this…tingling feeling…like some kind of warning that something's gonna happen."

"That would be your Gut Instincts." Ryu said. "You should pay attention to them at all times. It may be best if we get to our machines in case-no. _When _Zaft attacks."

The others nodded, and they soon entered the Hanger, and got their machines on Stand-by.

"_Heat source detected!_" the radar man for Halberton's ship shouted "_It's the Second ZAFT Fleet!_"

"_All Ships this is Halberton,_" The admiral said calmly "_Form a defensive perimeter around the Archangel so that it can begin it's decent to earth, THAT SHIP MUST MAKE IT!_"

The ships cheered as the mobile armors launched and the ships moved in a defensive screen around the Archangel "_But Admiral,_" Ryu protested "_If they are using the G-weapons you wouldn't stand a chance._"

"_I know Flight Captain,_" Halberton said "_But that ship contains our best hope of ending this war, so it is our DUTY to make sure it arrives safely._"

Kira could almost hear Ryu gritting his teeth "_Attention all Archangel Pilots, you are too launch and defend the Archangel during its decent,_" Ryu ordered "_La Flaga, Darknal, Graham, Hikari be sure to remain close, our Gundams may be able to survive reentry but you're suits wouldn't be able to._"

"_Understood._" The pilots coursed as they launched.

"_Kira-_" Ryu started only to be interrupted.

"Don't even say it Ryu," Kira said fiercely "I meant it when I said I'd watch your back."

Ryu chuckled "_Hey I wasn't going to tell you to head back;_" he protested "_I was just going to say keep sharp._"

"You better have been." Kira warned before the two pilots blasted entered the Catapult.

"Ryu Hisanaga, Dragon's Dynasty Gundam, Engaging the Enemy!"

"Kira Yamato, Aile Strike Gundam, Lets do it!"

"Jordan Takeo, Hero Gundam, Lets Rock and ROLL!"

"Matthew Takeo, Warrior Gundam, Lets cut 'Em up!"

"Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, Launching!"

"Liz Dante, Raptor Gundam, and Here I go!"

"Amy Sierra, Thunder Gundam, Taking off!"

"Hikari Sierra, Phoenix, Lets hit it!"

"Graham Aker, Aviator, Moving out!"

"Darknal, GINN Sniper Custom, Targeted and FIRING!"

_ZAFT Lines_

Mark sat in his new G-weapon as his team flew forward ready to attack the Alliance fleet in front of them, his squad consisted of himself, Jacques and Naleen, their objective, the Dynasty G-weapon and its pilot the Dragon of Endymion. Yzak led his own squad consisting of himself, Dearka and Nicol on an attack against the Strike, Lev and Yuuka attacked the Archangel, The Ghost and Shadow were moving against the GINN and the two Unknown Units, Kane lead his own little team against the Hero, Warrior and Thunder, while Zar lead in an attack himself. They had a supporting force of over 100 GINNs, 7 _Nazca_-class, 4 _Laurasia_-class, Zar's _Aztec-_class, four _Inca-_class, and two _Zulu_-class, and were up against 12 _Drake_-class, 7 _Nelson_-class, 4 _Agamemnon_-class and too many Moebius' to count along with the legged ship and it's G-weapons.

It was a slaughter.

The defending ships and armors fought valiantly but for every one suit they took down five armors and a ship were destroyed. Mark cruised through the enemy lines his swords cutting the enemy mobile armors to shreds alongside Jacques while Naleen fired at the ships crippling them, their first warning of the Dynasty's arrival was the shout of a nearby GINN pilot "_W-what is this!_" the pilot shouted as his suit was dismembered before it was destroyed.

Looking over the trio saw the destroyed GINN and emerging from the remains was the Dynasty wielding a whole lot of weapons, each of them were close combat type weapons, but they knew, they knew to the Dynasty nothing like that mattered as the suits eyes flashed he charged forward meeting Mark's shotels with his own Murasame arm units blades before delivering a devastating kick to the Slash's midsection and put some minor distance between them when a single beam shot from the Hawk separated them "_I see ZAFT came out with some new toys pretty quickly._" Mark heard Ryu comment.

"Yeah apparently they are that good." Mark agreed grimly, they were in trouble, they knew it, their enemy knew it, they were new to these rushed suits that weren't fully out fitted, while he was in a suit he knew like the back of his hand, with a_ lot_ of weapons in his specialization, this wasn't good.

_Meanwhile_

Yzak growled as more of these cannon fodder armors got in his way from his objective, the Strike that damn suit scarred his face and it will pay "Out of my way!" Yzak shouted as his Assault Shroud Dual tore through another mobile armor finally spotting the Strike he grinned sickly "I have you now Strike!"

And as if the pilot heard him the Strike turned to see the Dual, Buster and Blitz charging towards it, raising its rifle and the Trikeros it snapped off a series of shots forcing the pilots to break formation, falling back Nicol activated his Mirage Colloid in an attempt to sneak up on the enemy while the Buster combined it's rifles into the cannon form and started returning fire while Yzack charged forward drawing his beam saber as he went and clashed against the Strike's katana in an attempt to overpower the suit.

Breaking away the Strike danced around the Dual and kicked at seemingly nothing only for the Blitz to appear as the Mirage Colloid was deactivated "_I've told you that I know the weaknesses of the Mirage Colloid Nicol._" A feminine voice reprimanded surprising both Dearka and Yzak as the two sides split apart.

"_Yeah I was hoping to get you off guard Kira._" Nicol said sheepishly.

"_You know her Nicol?_" Dearka asked shocked.

"_We know only each other's names,_" Nicol corrected "_We've never met in person._"

"_Kira Yamato, the Valkyrie of Heliopolis._" Kira said as she activated her Trikeros' beam saber and held her katana out.

"_Sigh, Dearka Elsman, Pilot of the Buster._" Dearka said as he took aim.

"Yzak Joule, the one who is going to kill you!" Yzak roared as he charged forward and clashed his beam saber against the katana only to be forced away when Kira brought her beam saber up and nearly dissected the Dual.

"_Why?_" Kira asked "_Because I fight for the opposite side from you?_"

"Of course!" Yzak raged as he fired his shoulder mounted rail gun and missiles as Dearka fired his cannon and missiles and Nicol fired with is beam rifle. Kira fired her Igelstellungs at the missiles detonating them as she dodged the incoming fire.

"That doesn't make any sense," she commented calmly as she returned fire with both the beam rifle and her Trikeros forcing them to evade, charging forward using her superior mobility and speed thanks to the Aile pack she started making a series of hit and run attacks on them briefly hitting them before moving away and hitting another target "_So then how will the war end with an attitude like that? With all of the Naturals dead? The Entire Earth in flames?_"

Yzak growled as he tried to hit the Strike only for it to dance out of the way.

_Archangel_

Liz grunted as the Lightning impacted her suit in a tackle before she flipped the suit off of her and transformed into jet mode and took off after the high speed mobile suit "Just sit still will you!" Liz shouted in frustration as she made sure not to stray too far from the Archangel.

"_Why so you could shoot me?_" the Lightning's pilot asked teasingly as she banked hard to avoid a cluster of missiles.

"That is the point of a battle isn't it?" Liz countered sarcastically as she pulled up into a steep climb to avoid the Lightning's sudden turn around saber attack and transformed again and clashed sabers with the Lightning "Tell me, how much coffee do you give that suit to make it go that fast?"

The pilot laughed at Liz's joke "_My name is Yuuka Mizuki, you?_" Yuuka asked in curiosity as they broke apart.

"Elizabeth 'Liz' Dante, Preying Raptor." Liz introduced as the pair circled "Nice to meet you!"

They charged again clashing swords as they tried to overpower each other.

_Chris and Mu_

Chris and Mu had teamed up against the mobile weapon platform know as Grizzly to prevent it from getting a clear shot at the Archangel as it began to descend into the atmosphere "Damn how thick is that armor?" Chris questioned as his rail blast did little more than scratch the paint of the heavily armored suit.

"_Humph to thick for those weapons to pierce,_" the pilot commented as Mu's assault rifle did little damage "_As a soldier I can't help but be impressed, as a human I can't help but be afraid._"

"Huh?" Chris responded smartly "What are you talking about?"

"_He's talking about the G-weapons, Right?_" Mu asked as the three suits paused for a minute.

"_You are correct Mu la Flaga, Hawk of Endymion,_" the pilot answered politely "_My name is Lev Mikhail._"

"Chris Dante, Black Raven." Chris said in introduction and with that out of the way the three pilots engaged in combat once more.

_With Hikari_

Hikari was as scared as ever behind the controls of the Phoenix. Even though she had Darknal and Graham with her for Support, she was still worried about not just herself, but her sister and the others.

It was when a pair of beams lashed out in front of them, that Hikari swore violently, activated MIX mode and backed away from the beams quickly.

"_So, the E.A has some new Toy's?_" a voice on the radio said. Hikari and the others looked up, and saw the Ghost and Shadow. Only they took note that the Shadow now had a Trikeros Offensive/Defensive shield mounted on its left fore-arm, and the Ghost had a similar shield, but it definitely wasn't the same.

"_Ya, well, we couldn't let the G-Weapons hog all of the glory!_" Graham stated as he charged forward with Hikari backing him up against the Shadow, while Darknal sped towards the Ghost.

Graham fired his linear rifle while in MA mode as he made a few passes against the Shadow, on his third pass he flipped into MS mode and drew out a pale blue Beam Saber, and moved in. Johann replied by drawing his own beam saber, and meeting with Graham's.

Graham then boosted the Aviator's engines forward, and pushed the Shadow Back. '_What the?_' Johann thought. '_That unit's powerful!_'

The Aviator then drew out its second beam saber, and once again clashed with the Shadow. Hikari then appeared from behind with her 55mm Gun pod, and fired a series of rounds into the Shadow's back. Though doing no seeable damage due to P.S armor, the kinetic forces of the hits rattled the inside of the cockpit. '_This is gonna take a while, wont it?_' he thought.

Meanwhile, the Ghost and GINN twirled around each other as Nena fired her Beam Pistol. Darknal evaded by ducking down, and responded by firing a shot from his Beam Sniper rifle. But The Ghost evaded. "_Wow, your good!_" Nena said as she fired a few Hydra missiles from her shield unit. Darknal started backing away, drawing his Beam Rifle and fired away, destroying the missiles before they hit his suit.

"Ya well, I had a good teacher." Darknal said as he drew a Beam saber, and charged. Nena also activated a Beam Saber from her shield unit, and met Darknal into another Clash.

"_Ya know, I don't think we've met. I'm Nena Kojima._" Nena said as her image appeared on the screen. Darknal blushed a bit seeing Nena's figure. "Um…C-Christopher T-Thake!" he stuttered out, Hypnotized at how Nena's Red Flight suit showed off every curve on her body. "B-but my friends Call me Darknal!"

Nena giggled a bit. "_Oh, dose Darky like what he sees?_" she teased.

Darknal blinked. "Are you flirting with me in a battle?" he asked incredulously.

"_Of course!_" Nena said as she tried to Kick Darknal's GINN, only for him to back away at the last second. "_Some people try to tempt their enemies, get them cocky…I just like to flirt with them._"

Darknal Groaned. "You're gonna be doing it a lot, wont you?" he asked, and Nena giggled. "_Yup!_" she replied as she started firing with her Beam pistol again.

_Meanwhile_

Jordan had both of his Exia Kai's in Rifle mode as he fired non-stop at the hoards of GINN's and CGUE's. Thanks to some Upgrades they made when they reached the fleet, the Exia Kai's could now fire in a Full-auto mode like the Beam SMG from the Thunder could.

Jordan's danger senses flashed, and he pulled off a back-flip missing a series of RAIL cannons. Jordan looked at the source of the shots.

The shots came from a team of 8 GuAIZ R's. They were all Black with Red trimming. And they all shared an emblem of a Skull with a Snake. Resting on top of the Skull was a crimson Red Vulture.

'_Schwarze team._' Jordan thought. '_Lead by the Vulture of Jachin Due, Dominic Zarbov. Good thing Matthew told me about the different Aggressor Squadrons out there._'

Jordan then switched his left hand Exia into Sword mode, and charged forward. The GuAIZ's opened fire again with their Pollus IX Railguns in another Salvo. Jordan flanked left to avoid the first barrage. He then fired off a few shots at them from his left Exia, two shots missed, but the third shot got lucky and blasted off the head of one of the GuAIZ's.

Another two GuAIZ R's broke off from the others and charged at the Hero, with their beam sabers drawn. Jordan switched both of his Exia Kai's into sword mode, and charged to meet them. However when they neared in close, Jordan surprised them and flew down low, and bringing his Exia's into rifle mode again, fired two shots, each destroying the two units instantly.

The remaining 5 GuAIZ's then tried to circle around him, in order to confuse him. Jordan simply had his right Exia Kai Remain in sword mode, while his left was in rifle mode.

'_Wait for it…wait for it…_'

Then, they all charged. Jordan Reacted quickly. He fired one shot into the first GuAIZ, destroying it. He then ducked under another GuAIZ's beam saber, and returned the attack with a swipe from his Exia Kai, cutting it in half. Then turned around, bringing both of his Exia Kai's in Rifle mode around, and fired two shots destroying another two GuAIZ's Head's, and then ducked one more time as the last GuAIZ tried to stab the Hero, but the Hero then cut the GuAIZ in an X fashion with both of his Exia's.

"Hey, I'm really getting the hang of this." Jordan muttered to himself as he left the 3 Damaged GuAIZ's floating in space.

He then felt a familiar presence, and raised his first Exia Kai just in time to catch a beam saber from a Familiar Blood Red GuAIZ. "_It seems our paths cross yet again, Jordan._" Zar said.

Jordan smiled a bit. "It seems they have, Zar." He said as he prepared for yet another Duel with the Devil.

_Meanwhile_

Amy fired her 90mm Gatling cannons as she pushed her suit into reverse to shoot down a swarm of Missiles launched from a pair of GINN's. The 90mm rounds successfully manage to hit, and destroy the missiles.

Amy then turned her attention to the GINN's themselves, and transformed to MA mode. She then activated the newest feature on her mobile suit, as the wings started to glow red hot.

The Thunder then charged forward towards the GINN's at nearly blinding speed, and in a Flash, the wings of the Thunder cut through the GINN's easily. Amy then switched it back to MS mode and used her Beam SMG to destroy a Black CGUE.

She then got a strange jolting feeling in her mind that forced her to dodge to the left, and as she did so, she nearly missed a pair of Railgun rounds.

She looked at the source, and noticed the Black/Purple GuAIZ with two Shields mounted on both of its arms, and a pair of Railguns on its hips. The GuAIZ activated its Beam Claw's and charged at the Thunder.

Reacting Quickly, Amy drew out her own Beam Sabers, and caught the Unknown GuAIZ's attack.

"_Well, I'll admit you defiantly know how to use that suit._" A feminine voice said on the Radio.

Amy grinned. "Well, I gotta thank the Upgrades Ryu made for us, of course." She replied as she started to push the GuAIZ back. "By the way, Name's Amy Sierra, the Thunder Goddess."

The Pilot of the GuAIZ chuckled as she fought back trying to push the Thunder back. "_It is nice to meet you, Amy._" She said. "I am Sayla Hellfury, the Tiger of Endymion."

Amy's eyes narrowed as. "So, you're Related to _Kane _Hellfury?" she asked, spitting out the name of the Monster Pilot.

Sayla sighed as she backed away. "_Yes, I am the older sister of my disgrace of a brother Kane._" She said as she fired her Rail cannons at Amy, only for her to dodge. "_Though sometimes I wish I wasn't related to that…that _Bastard."

Amy blinked in surprise. "You hate him that much?" she asked as she fired her 90mm's only for Sayla to catch them with her shields. "_Only My Father, Zar could hate him more._" Sayla stated as she closed the distance between them again. "_Kane is a disgrace to the Hellfury Name, and I will not even shed a tear when I hear if he gets killed._"

"That's something we have in common." Amy stated firmly as she caught the GuAIZ's beam sabers again.

_Meanwhile_

The Warrior's Scythe cut through yet another GINN as Matthew continued to support the Fleet. He then raised his shield-arm, and fired off his Buster Shield at another GINN, it grappled onto it, and the pincer sliced through the GINN.

Matthew then got a familiar sensation in the back of his head. '_He's here._' He thought and his suit backed away just in time to avoid a Series of DRAGOON beams as the Monster Appeared. "_You're becoming quite a pest, Matthew!_" Kane shouted as the DRAGOON's Circled around him. "_Today, I'm going to crush you like the bug you are!_" Kane then launched the DRAGOON's towards Matthew.

However, Matthew has been getting use to fighting against these things, and was adapting to fight against them. As the beams lanced around him, Matthew darted around fast enough so that Kane would have a hard time controlling his DRAGOON's to fight him.

_Meanwhile_

_Ryu_

Ryu ducked under Jacques Scythe and he swung with his blade forcing him to back off before he boosted to the side to avoid a beam shot from Naleen. Ryu pulled out his dual heat blades and clashed blades once more with Mark "_You're taking us completely serious._" Mark observed as they tried to overpower one another.

"Yeah I am," Ryu confirmed "Because I have found my redemption, I will protect my friends and that ship."

"_I see._" Jacques muttered as the trio of ZAFT aces faced off against the legendary EA coordinator ace who combined his two blades into a double bladed staff and extended one of his arm blades.

"Let's go." Ryu said and charged forward clashing his arm blade against Jacques' Scythe and his double bladed staff against Mark's shotels. Moving quickly Ryu disengaged from both of them and slipped between them and spun his suit lashing out with his feet kicking both suits away and charged at Naleen weaving through her fire, folding up his extended blades he returned fire with the beam pistol mounted into the unit forcing Naleen to begin to dodge while two exchanged fire, charging forward Ryu attempted to cut her down only for Jacques to intercept the sword with his Buster Shield Saber and swung Scythe around only for Ryu to flip over it and kicked Jacques into Naleen sending the pair flying.

Turing he starting exchanging fire with Mark who had his 'Reamer' beam pistol out before the pair charged in close and collided swords against each other breaking away Ryu dodged some sniper fire before blocking a strike from Jacques' heavy Scythe and kicked him away before bringing up his beam pistol and destroying the volley of missiles that Naleen fired only to get tackled by Mark when he was turning to engage Naleen.

Kicking the suit off of his own Ryu spun the Dynasty in a barrel roll narrowly evading a sniper shot that would have put him out of commission he spun his staff and, to ZAFT's surprise, _threw_ at Mark who was recovering piercing the head of the mobile suit destroying the cameras taking Mark out of the fight. Quickly retrieving the blades he blocked a strike from behind by Jacques and aimed his Beam pistol at close range and destroyed the Phantom's limbs rendering it useless, turning he focused on the Hawk and charged forward blocking a couple of shots and dodging the missiles and bullets before coming in close and severing the head and right arm of the mobile suit crippling it.

Ryu let out a breath as he saw them limping their way back to ZAFT lines covered by a squad of GINNs and grabbed his Anti-ship sword and charged towards the ZAFT frigates that were starting to break through.

_**Kira**_

Kira grunted as she recovered from a kick from Yzak "_Just die already!_" Yzak screamed as he swung at the Strike only for Kira to evade it and returned the favor by kicking the Dual in the head.

Boosting back Kira evaded a blast from the Buster "Is he always things angry?" she asked humorously.

"_You don't know the half of it._" Dearka muttered as he fired a volley of missiles that Kira destroyed before she blocked the Blitz's Lancer Darts.

Kira breathed deeply as she concentrated on the enemy in front of her, it was tempting to fall into battle lust but using it when outnumbered and waiting for the signal to fall back to the Archangel was ill advised "I won't give up." She said as she pulled out her katana and charged forward ducking under the Blitz's counter swing and swung up aiming for the joints of the arm removing it and kicked Nicol away into Dearka and clashed swords again with Yzak "Why do you fight with such anger?" Kira asked "What purpose does it serve?"

"_SHUT UP!_" Yzack roared as he pushed harder against the unyielding Strike "_You damn Naturals think you're so much better than us, you sneer at us in contempt and say we're an affront against god, how is that possible?_"

"Whoever said I was a Natural?" Kira asked making Dearka and Yzak freeze in surprise "You assume that because I am with the EA that I am a Natural, well I'm not, I am a coordinator."

"_WHAT!_" Yzack exploded "_How could you Betray-_"

"My own kind?" Kira finished "Do you mean Coordinators? Or do you mean Humanity? I hold no loyalty to ZAFT or the PLANTs because they have done nothing to gain it; my loyalty is to my friends and comrades." Yzack tried to argue but when he opened his mouth he just couldn't find anything to argue with, ZAFT had done nothing to gain her loyalty, instead they destroyed her home "Your view on Naturals, while understandable, is horribly flawed, even on the very ship you are trying to shoot down there are few people who hate the Coordinators as a whole, I have met both the good and the bad, and it is the same with Coordinators as well, I am not trying to prove myself right or you wrong, I am not trying to sway your beliefs or loyalties, I am simply presenting the facts that I have gained through personal experience."

The trio of red coats sat there as they processed what she said "_That is true,_" Dearka admitted "_But that doesn't change our orders._"

"I never was trying to change your mind," Kira countered as she activated the beam saber on the Trikeros and held her katana at the ready "Let's end this."

"_Agreed._" Yzack said calmly.

Kira closed her eyes for a seconded and when she opened them she shot forward in a massive burst of speed and evaded the missile barrage sent by Yzak and Dearka before she ducked under Yzack's sword and swung her beam saber cutting off the legs of his mobile suit, spinning she evaded the point blank cannon blast from Dearka and threw her shield at the Buster severing the head. "Whew," Kira sighed as she saw them pulling back Looking around she spotted the Dynasty Cleave its way through a _Nazca_-class and boosted towards him.

_Chris_

Chris grinned as he saw the hours he and his sister put in on the simulators pay off as he and Mu worked together to push Lev away from the Archangel, it was difficult to say the least due to the fact that the Grizzly was meant to storm fortresses and come out unharmed. "Just how much punishment can he take?" Chris wondered as he saw the Grizzly come out unharmed from a missile Barrage and fired its beam cannons at Mu only for Mu to dodge out of the way and launch his gunbarrels unleashing a salvo of beams and missiles that Lev met with is shield.

Chris felt a violent lurch as Earth's Gravity started to pull at him "Commander La Flaga!" he shouted.

"_I know, I know!_" Mu shouted back "_Archangel I'm returning._"

Lev turned his suit around "_Dammit, the Grizzly can't fight in these conditions,_" he stated as he fought against the gravity of earth and finally broke away and headed to the battle field "_Maybe next time._"

Chris snorted and transformed into his mobile armor mode and blasted away to the Archangel hoping his sister was alright.

_Hikari_

"Guy's! Our Bus is leaving!" Graham shouted as he saw the Archangel enter the Atmosphere.

"_He's Right! We gotta go!_" Darknal shouted as the GINN disengaged from the Ghost. Soon Hikari and Graham followed suit.

"_So, Hikari how was your first battle?_" Graham asked on the Radio.

"I…I don't know…" Hikari said as they approached the ship. "I felt scared…yet I didn't want to run…It was weird."

"_It's called Courage, and you have a lot of it, Hikari._" Graham said, causing Hikari to blush a bit. But Graham didn't notice. "T-thanks Lieutenant Aker." She said.

"_Please, just call me Graham._"

_Liz_

"I think the phrase 'Well Shit' sums this situation up pretty well." Liz stated as she and Yuuka fought against Earth's gravity. The pair had been fighting when they had gotten too close to an _Agamemnon_-class that had exploded sending them tumbling into the point of no return. Looking over to the right and behind Liz spotted the Archangel entering its decent mode, gritting her teeth Liz made a snap decision and grabbed the Lightning and began to drag it to the Archangel.

"_W-what are you doing?_" Yuuka asked in shock as the Raptor dragged the Lightning.

"We're past the point of no return and have two choices," Liz informed "Board the Archangel which _can_ descend through the Atmosphere safely or use mobile suits that while theoretically can enter the Atmosphere I am in no mood to test that theory right now, are you?"

Yuuka was silent as she thought her options over "_What will happen to me?_" She asked.

Liz sighed "I won't lie, chances are we will keep you as a prisoner of war," she admitted honestly "But the crew harbors no hatred towards Coordinators."

"_And how do I know that's true?_" Yuuka asked suspiciously.

"Because I am a Coordinator," Liz revealed "Now are you coming or not? I'll need help from your suits thrusters to get to the Archangel."

Yuuka dumbly nodded still surprised at the revelation and the two mobile suits worked together to get to the Archangel.

_Meanwhile_

The Battles between Matthew, Jordan, Amy, and the Hellfury's had merged into one battle. The Gundam's and the two custom GuAIZ's struggled to stay out of the Earth's Gravity while also fighting each other.

Jordan finally gained the upper hand, as gravity was more harmful to the GuAIZ's, then the Hero slammed his shield into Zar's GuAIZ's chest before kicking it in the face.

Left with little else, Zar raised his Beam Rifle… and a shuttle passed between him and the Hero.

"Oh no, the shuttle from the _Menelaos_!" exclaimed Jordan. He keyed the radio, intent on contacting the ZAFT commander. "Please stop!" he called. "It's a refugee shuttle!"

Zar's eyes widened. Of course… Heliopolis refugees… it made sense, really.

Kane, Sayla, and many of the other Zaft Pilots had all heard the transmission too… and Kane snorted, activating his own radio.

"_Refugees?_" he said. "_That means nothing! There is no such thing as innocence in humanity, in war! They were on the battlefield… that means their lives are forfeit!_"

The eyes of everyone who heard—Jordan, Matthew, Amy, Zar, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, Lev, and Sayla—widened. Kane took aim…

That was when it hit Matthew…Lacus was on that same Shuttle!

"NO!" He shouted as he tried to get in the way. Kane fired his Palm Beam cannon as a massive purple ball of energy arched towards the Shuttle…But then, Matthew experienced a Vision of a Silver seed, shattering into an explosion of multi-colored light. As a sense of calmness swept over Him, Matthew's irises became dilated, and silver.

In the Warrior's Engine, the ARC Reactor started to glow, and glow, and shin until its normal blue light was blinding Silver in color. And in the cockpit, the words: "ARC DRIVE ENGAGED." appeared, and the Warrior started to Glow.

_Shuttle_

Lacus sat in one of the Window seats. Next to here was a young little who was looking out the window, pointing at something.

Lacus looked to see what it was…and noticed the Warrior rushing towards them, and she also noticed the Monster firing its Palm Cannon.

Her eyes widened, and she then shut them tightly, expecting death…

But it never came.

She opened her eyes, and glanced out the Window again, and her eyes flew wide yet again.

**Begin Playing: 'Hero' By Skillet**

The Warrior was right there, holding the ball of Energy back with nothing but its hands as it was Shinning Silver.

She sighed in relief. '_Matthew…_' she thought.

_Battle_

"WHAT!" Kane shouted in anger as the Warrior managed to not only intercept his attack, but hold it at bay!

"_I've lost too much in this War already…_" Kane could hear Matthew's voice. "I WILL NOT LOOSE HER TOO!" he shouted as he then tossed the ball of energy back towards the Monster.

Kane tried to back away, however his suit was still being pulled by Earth's Gravity. He then tried firing more of his palm cannons to slow the ball down…however this just caused a chain reaction that, though it stopped the energy ball, the kick-back effect sent the Monster hurtling upwards, with both of its legs destroyed and the cockpit breached.

Zar sighed in relief when the Warrior saved the Shuttle. "Sayla…go retrieve you idiot of a brother." He growled. "I want him alive…so I can deal with him _myself._"

"_Understood sir,_" Sayla said as he Grabbed hold of the Warrior, and she and Zar sped away.

Matthew sighed as he saw the Shuttle escape. "She's safe…" Matthew muttered, and then he soon lost consciousness. The Warrior started to fall into the Atmosphere, but the Hero and Thunder Caught it.

"Way to go, big bro." Jordan said. "Let's get back to the ship."

_Archangel, Bridge_

"Ma'am, Raptor, Hero, Thunder, and Warrior on approach with the Lightning!" Sai shouted to Murrue "Liz is requesting permission to bring the Lightning aboard."

"I'll allow it!" Murrue confirmed "Have a security team on standby in the hanger, Where is the Dynasty and the Strike?"'

"They are both currently engaging the ZAFT fleet alongside the remaining allied forces," Mir reported "Admiral Halberton is currently gathering his forces for one last stand!"

"Get them on the radio!" Murrue ordered "Flight Captain Hisanaga and Flight Lieutenant Yamato why haven't you returned yet?"

_"Sorry Captain," _Ryu apologized as he fought his way through waves of GINNs beside the Strike "_We kinda caught up in something here, continue on without me, Kira fall back I'll cover you._"

"_Like _HELL_ I will Hisanaga!_" Kira shouted back angrily as she cut a GINN in half "_I told you I will watch your back while you watch mine._"

Ryu chuckled as he shook his head "_Captain Can you open this to the entire ship?_" he asked and receiving a nod he started speaking "_Attention Archangel._"

_Change room_

Chris and Mu looked up to the Speaker when Ryu's voice broke through "_This is Flight Captain Ryu Hisanaga speaking with you for what may be the last time,_"

"Don't tell me." Mu muttered as he frowned.

"_It has been my honor to serve on the Archangel as an EA soldier,_"

_Hanger_

"_While our time together may have been short I can't say I regret a second of it._"

"Ryu? Kira?" Liz asked in fear as all movement stopped in the Hanger.

"W-what's going on?" Yuuka asked in confusion.

"_It was an honor to see such people in the EA exist, people who don't discriminate against Coordinators for how we are born._"

_Flay's quarters_

"_Some of you I know had to work hard to overcome these problems._"

"A-are they?" Flay murmured in surprise.

"_Please do not lose that._"

_Bridge_

Little did Ryu know that he was in actuality announcing his speech to the entire EA fleet as well as Murrue, who realized what he was going to do, switched the comm from ship wide to fleet wide.

"_It is in these troubled times that we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are in reality all are the same, Naturals and Coordinators are no different from one another, only in how we are born, we all are a part of the race known as Humanity,_" Ryu paused for a second to collect his thoughts "_I truly believe that unity between Coordinators and Naturals can be achieved so to the crew of the Archangel I ask you of one favor, please do this in mine and Kira's place._"

_Hanger_

"No..." Liz said collapsing to her knees in shock surprising Yuuka who was starting to understand what was happening.

"Goddammit!" Graham shouted punching the wall while Hikari and Darknal simply stared off into space numbed from the revelation.

_Flay's Quarters_

"N-no it can't be." She whispered in fear as tears fell down her face.

_Bridge_

The entire bridge was silent but for Mir's sobs as Sai tried to comfort her, the senior crew and NCO's all were saluting.

"_But please do not become enwrapped in hatred because of this,_" Ryu pleaded unaware of the mood on the Archangel "_We are fighting for what we believe in; this is our final stand for the future._"

"_I do feel the same as Ryu,_" Kira confirmed cutting into the broadcast "_All I ask is that you tell my parents that I love them and that I'm sorry._"

_Jordan_

"_Jordan, I need you to do me a Favor._" Ryu's voice came through on the Comm. "_I am hear-by promoting you to Flight Commander, and your Brother into Flight Lieutenant in me and Kira's place._"

Jordan blinked in shock. "B-but Ryu!" he tried to protest, but Ryu cut him off.

"_Kid, don't argue._" Ryu said sternly. "_I know you can do this. This is something I truly believe you can do._" Jordan's grip on the Hero's control's tightened. "I will." He said. His voice now filled with determination.

"_Good._" Ryu said. "_Ryu Hisanaga, Signing Off._"

With that the two cut the link and turned their focus back to the battle "All hands prepare for descent!" Murrue ordered snapping people out of their revere "Heliopolis enlistees I understand if you need to leave the bridge."

Tolle grimly shook his head "I can't leave now," he said determinedly "He is counting on us to see this ship safely to Alaska, so how can I run when he is up their fighting for us."

"Tolle's right," Mir agreed "We will have time to mourn later."

Murrue smiled "Very well, begin Decent phase two!" she ordered.

"Warning we have an ionic storm in our path!" Tolle shouted as his hands flew across his consol "If we go through it our systems will be knocked out, but at this staged the slightest deviation will get us completely off course."

"We have no choice!" Murrue shouted "Neumann go around in the shortest route to evade it and try to get us back on course!"

"Yes ma'am!" Neumann confirmed as he fought with the controls of the ship flying it around the storm "I can't get her back on course ma'am, best I can do is Northern Africa!"

"It'll have to do!" Murrue stated grimly well aware that it was ZAFT controlled territory. "Keep her steady Neumann."

_Battlefield_

"Sorry to drag you into this Kira." Ryu apologized as he recharged their suits using an abandoned _Nelson_-class.

"_Don't apologize Ryu,"_ Kira reprimanded "_I chose this of my own free will, I'm sure that my parents will understand eventually._"

Ryu smiled at her "I love you Kira Yamato."

"I love you Ryu Hisanaga."

The pair blasted away to rejoin the battle, it was not going well, ZAFT lost about ten GINNs and Three _Nazca_-classes, while the EA lost three quarters of their mobile armors, only two _Drake_-classes remained along with the Montgomery, an _Agamemnon_-class captained by Halberton and finally the Menelaos.

"_I hope you know that speech of yours was broadcasted to the entire fleet._" Halberton informed in a regretful tone "_It certainly has hardened the resolve of our soldiers._"

"Really?" Ryu asked surprised.

Halberton chuckled "_Can't you hear it?_" he asked "_Their war cry?_"

Ryu frowned and switched over to an open channel immediately the first thin heard was "_FOR A UNIFIED FUTURE!_" As the Moebius pilots began to fight harder as their Resolve became fixed in concrete "_FOR THE DREAM OF THE DRAGON AND THE VALKYRIE, FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY!_"

It started off as a chuckled but soon it became a full blown out laugh "This is so true," Ryu muttered "You ready Kira?"

"_Yeah_," Kira confirmed "_Let's do it._"

**Begin Playing: This War is Ours by Escape the Fate.**

**Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=K0zfuWue-Q**

"Ryu Hisanaga!"

"Kira Yamato!"

"Dragon of Endymion!"

"Valkyrie of Heliopolis!"

"Dragon's Dynasty Gundam!"

"Aile Strike Gundam!"

Both: "Fighting for the Future!"

The pair pushed their thrusters to the limits and started tearing through the ZAFT forces with an unheard of fury as they two worked together like a well oiled machine. Pulling out his Buster Sword Ryu charged forward cutting off the Bridge of a _Nazca _-class while Kira used her katana to cut through several GINNs in rapid progression, the pair saw the same vision when they closed their eyes and took a breath.

A pair of seeds, one green and the other amethyst circled each other before colliding in a burst of light and when the pair opened their eyes there was a major difference, Ryu's right eye was Golden with a slight pupil, while his left was Amethyst in color and a dilated pupil.

Kira's right eye was amethyst with a dilated pupil, while her left was golden with a slit pupil. Somehow, someway the two could see from each other's perspective and could feel and hear each other's thoughts and feelings '_W-what is this?_' Kira questioned in her mind.

'_Kira?_' Ryu wondered upon hearing her voice in his head '_H-how is this possible._'

'_I don't know,_' Kira admitted '_but we have something to do, don't we love?_'

'_You got that right Beautiful,_' Ryu agreed with a grin as he opened a full spectrum channel and took a deep breath and let out one of his loudest most draconic roar since Endymion "Look out you ZAFT bastards!" Ryu shouted "'Cause the Dragon is coming for you!"

ZAFT froze in shock as the pair surged forward along with the remaining EA fleet hot on their heels smashing into the ZAFT fleet like a surge of water, and smashed through the primary defensive screening as they fought countless GINNs that seemed to just keep coming, Ryu kept the pair supplied for power as he stole power from the enemy suits and ships to enable them to keep fighting.

The pair never faltered as their seemingly melded consciousness brought them a whole other level of fighting, they didn't need to speak, they didn't need to actively look for each other or the enemy, they could see from the others eyes, they could sense the pilots of the enemy fleet, even after the Dragon lost an arm from a Cannon blast he continued to wield the Buster Blade to deadly effect smashing suits together cutting entire squads apart in single swing. Kira even after losing her right leg and a stabilizer wing and a near miss from a carriers laser blast tearing her cockpit open continued to fight, they felt like they had become one with their suits, like their suits were a complete extension of themselves.

_Gamow, Bridge_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEIR BREAKING THROUGH?" Victor roared from his command chair "How did this happen!"

"It was the Dragon's roar," Mark stated calmly as he analyzed the situation "Lev and the Grizzly would be useless against the pair, they are just too fast and he is to slow."

Victor growled and stood up "If you want something done right than do it yourself." He muttered as he strode to the Hanger and enters his GuAIZ "I'm launching now."

_Kira_

Kira tried to regulate her breathing as not to waste her precious supply of oxygen, she had linked her suit directly to the suits supply but that would only last so long "_Kira, Ryu,_" Halberton said getting their attention "_You both have done enough, fall back._"

"_No can do Halberton,_" Ryu stated as the pair formed up in front of the last remaining ship, the Montgomery "_We decided to stick this out to the end, and that is what we will do._"

"I'm with Ryu," Kira said thankful her radio was still working by some miracle "No matter what we will stand and fight."

"_I see,_" Halberton breathed out "_Thank you, both of you._"

An idea crossed Kira's mind and Ryu with their new connection agreed instantly "There is one thing you can do for use Captain." She said "Can you marry the two of us?"

Halberton Chuckle along with the rest of his crew and remaining pilots "_It would be my honor._" He agreed "_Dearly beloved,_" he started to some chuckles "_We are gathered here to witness the union of this young couple in holy matrimony, they have overcome many trials and adversities to stand here today in front of God, Do you Ryu Hisanaga take this women to be your lawfully wedded wife?_"

"_I do,_" Ryu confirmed as he cut a GINN in half and evaded a Laser blast

"_Do you Kira Yamato take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?_" he asked Kira.

"I do." She confirmed as she destroyed a GINN equipped with a laser cannon trying to sneak up on the Montgomery.

"_Than By the power vested in me I pronounce you Husband and Wife._" Halberton declared to a massive round off cheers and whistles.

"_So I am Ryu Yamato now huh?_" Ryu asked lightly surprising Kira slightly "_The Hisanaga has always prided themselves on being the best soldiers; it's time for them to fade into history._"

"Alright than," Kira agreed as they went back to back "Sounds better than Kira Hisanaga at any rate."

Ryu chuckled in agreement until he saw a flash of red. Now in front of them, was a single Blood Red GuAIZ, with an emblem of an Axe and Sword on its left shoulder. "_Well, hello again, Ryu Hisanaga._" An eerie voice said. "_It's been some time, hasn't it?_"

"_It can't be,_" he whispered "_The Butcher of Ontario._"

Through their link Kira could see the flashes of his memories; his home destroyed a crimson GINN hovering over his home city laughing joyfully at the destruction, Ryu's subsequent warpath, his oath '_Let's go Ryu._' Kira whispered into his mind '_Your family is my family, so he killed my parent-in-laws, so let's show him our strength._'

'_Yeah,_' Ryu agreed tightening his grip on his controls "_Victor Amsel!_" he shouted "_I will kill you today!_"

The two boosted forward towards the strange new mobile suit firing their beam weapons as they approached, Victor raised his shield and block the shots and started firing with his shots focusing on Ryu "_Oh really, you damn Natural lover, you will never beat me!_" Victor yelled as he charged at Ryu extending his beam claws and swiped at Ryu narrowly missing him and rolled out of the way from Kira's slash as she attacked from behind "_You may be in G-weapons, but you will never touch my GuAIZ!_"

"Don't bet too much on that!" Kira countered as she and Ryu weaved back and forth as they charged forward, Kira was the first to connect with the beam claws blocking them with her katana and brought up her beam rifle in her opposite hand and fired forcing Victor to move to the right, right into the path of Ryu's buster sword that managed to cleave off a portion of armor on his right arm shocking the pilot and Kira followed it up with a shoulder tackle sending him tumbling back from the impact.

Moving as a single entity the pair continued trading blows with the crimson suit slowly cutting it to pieces "_Fucking Whore!_" Victor shouted as Kira cut off one of his thrusters that Ryu followed up by cutting off a leg "_Son of a Bitch!_" Victor tried to escape but the pair showed no mercy as they relentlessly dogged him; even after the Montgomery was destroyed they continued to fight the final words of Lewis Halberton engraved into their souls.

"_Live long and strong,_" he said calmly as his ship crashed into the remaining _Laurasia_-class leaving only the Gamow, two Inca's, a Zulu, the Aztec, a handful of GINNs and CGUE's, and the GuAIZ that was being torn apart "_And Always fight for the future._"

_Gamow, Bridge_

Mark sighed as he went over to the communications terminal "This is Mark Cadillac; all surviving suits return to your ships, we are leaving this field of battle." He ordered grimly as he surveyed the destruction that was the ZAFT and EA fleet "This battle is over."

"_WHAT!_" Victor Yelled as his suit was dragged by a pair of GINNs "_What about those traitors!_"

"They have very little power left, maybe even less oxygen with nowhere to go," Mark informed "I don't think they will survive."

Victor snarled but complied anyways as the two G-weapons left them be drifting closer together.

**End Song (Fucking Epic, wasn't it?)**

_Ryu and Kira_

Kira transferred herself over to the Dragon's cockpit and sat on Ryu's lap exhausted as they felt their connection fade, Ryu transferred the last of the Strike's power and oxygen to the Dragon. Once the cockpit was re-pressurized they removed their helmets and kissed each other hard and passionately "I'm happy," Kira stated once they broke apart "I'm married to you of all people, I really don't mind that I may die, my only regret is not being able to say goodbye to mom and dad."

Ryu wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest "My only regret is not being able to have a child with you," Ryu admitted as the Dragon and Strike floated amongst the debris "But that I can deal with that, I'm just happy that you are here beside me."

"I'm happy to be here Ryu." Kira said as they kissed once more before their exhaustion got the better of the slipping into a deep sleep, dreaming of a pair of seeds continually circling each other.

Ending theme: Hoshi no Tobira

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=RvZNKvu0RLU

**AN: WOOHOO! THAT was without a doubt one of my favorite chapter's so far! **

**In the next Chapter, however, things are REALLY gonna heat up! New Characters will appear, even a few new mobile suits! **

**But until then, here are today's new Mecha. **

**See you next time! **

**117Jorn Out! :)**

**Model Number:** VMW-X02E 'Phoenix'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Transformable mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; P.S Armor  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x 12.5mm Head Vulcan; 1 x 55mm Gun Pod with Bayonet, usable in all three modes; 6 x 'Blitz' Missile pods, 3 mounted under each wing in MA and MIX mode, each with 6 missiles each;  
>1 x Beam Saber, holstered on back, hand-carried when in use, usable in MS mode and MIX mode only;<br>**Pilot:** Hikari Serra  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like a VF-0 Phoenix  
><strong>Colors:<strong>  
>Standard: Tan with yellow trimming<br>Hikari Custom: Orange with white trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> the VMF-X02E Phoenix was the prototype unit to the mass-produces series, the VMF-367 Valkyrie

**Model Number**: ZGMF-X01A  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Slash  
><strong>Unit Type<strong>: Prototype Close Combat Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant<strong>: Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features<strong>: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor  
><strong>Fixed Armament<strong>: 2x "CIWS" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun; 2x Heat Long-blades, mounted on back hand carried in use; 'Reamer' beam pistol, mount on left hip, hand carried in use.  
><strong>Pilot<strong>: Mark Cadillac  
><strong>Appearance<strong>: Sandrock Gundam from Gundam Wing with Primarily green coloring with a red trim  
><strong>Authors Note:<strong> The Slash was designed for one purpose, destroying the enemy G-weapons; as such they equipped it with two Heat Long-blades and has a beam pistol for mid-ranged fighting.

**Model Number**: ZGMF-X02A  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Hawk  
><strong>Unit Type<strong>: Prototype Long-ranged Support Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant<strong>: Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features<strong>: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor, sniping Camera mounted behind the V fin  
><strong>Fixed Armament<strong>: 2x "CIWS" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun; Heavy Beam Sniper Rifle, Weapon Shield(Has a six barreled gatling cannon attached), 5x Missile pods(Each holding 25x Serpent class Micro Missiles), mount on the body  
><strong>Pilot<strong>: Naleen Lynn  
><strong>Appearance<strong>: Heavyarms Gundam from Gundam Wing with A gold coloration  
><strong>Authors Note:<strong> The Hawk was design for long ranged support and attack using it's missiles and sniper for long ranged offence and the Weapon Shield for mid-close ranged offence.

**Model Number**: ZGMF-X03A  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Phantom  
><strong>Unit Type<strong>: Prototype Stealth Attack Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant<strong>: Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features<strong>: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor, Mirage Colloid  
><strong>Fixed Armament<strong>: 2x "CIWS" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun; Heavy Scythe, Buster Shield, contains a beam saber  
><strong>Pilot<strong>: Jacques Maddox  
><strong>Appearance<strong>: Deathscythe Gundam from Gundam Wing with complete black coloration  
><strong>Authors Note:<strong> The Phantom was based off of the Blitz but due to the councils wish to field their new G-weapons they never had the chance to completely out fit the new G-weapon leaving it with only it's Heavy Scythe and buster shield as its weapons.

**Model number:** GAT-X100D  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Dragon's Dynasty  
><strong>Unit type: <strong>Prototype Close Combat Assault Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Advance Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; hard-points for mounting IWS shields; high powered sniping camera, hidden behind the V crest  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x Heat Shotels, can be combined to create a double bladed sword, mounted on waist hand carried in use; 1x 15 Meter Anti-ship Heat Shotel, mounted on Back, hand carried in use, 2x Murasame Combo Arm Units, Has Beam Pistol and Heat Blades integrated into one unit, mounted on Arms, blades extended in use, Beam Pistols used when blades are folded; 6x "Armor Schneider" combat knife, stored in hip, shoulder and upper arm, hand carried in use; 2x Energy Transfer Cable.

**Optional armaments:** High Density Beam Rifle  
><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> After the Archangel linked up with the 8th Fleet Ryu received these weapons that they transferred over to completely rearm the Dynasty, especially after Its main weapon the Exia Kai III Sword Rifle was destroyed, it switched from an all purpose model to a close combat assault due to the fact that the EA decided to capitalize to the effectiveness of the Heat Shotel and Blade technology against Phase-Shift and Ship armor making it an Anti-Gundam and Anti-Ship suit.

**Model number:** GAT-X105KC  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Strike Kira Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> Prototype All-Purpose Multi-Mode Mobile Suit  
><strong>Manufacturer:<strong> Morgenroete  
><strong>Operator:<strong> EA  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Advance Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
>Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; hard-points for mounting Striker packs<br>**Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x "Armor Schneider" combat knife, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; "Trikeros" offense/defense system, mounted on Left arm, featuring: 50mm high-energy beam rifle, power rating unknown; beam saber; lancer darts; Type three Mushashi Katana, mounted on waist, hand carried in use  
><strong>Optional fixed armaments:<strong>

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X02 Sword Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X03 Launcher Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105+P202QX Strike Gundam IWSP,

GAT-X105+P204QX Lightning Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105KC+AQM/E-X04 Sniper Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105KC+AQME/E-X05 Aqua Strike Gundam,

GAT-X105KC+AQM/E-X06 Gunbarrel Strike Gundam  
><strong>Optional hand armaments:<strong> 57 mm high-energy beam rifle, power rating unknown; bazooka  
><strong>Striker Packs:<strong> AQM/E-X04 Sniper Strike Gundam: Mirage Colloid generator, High Density Beam Rifle, Enhanced Sensors; AQME/E-X05 Aqua Strike Gundam: Enhanced Sonar, Aqua Shotgun, 4x Torpedo launchers mounted legs and shoulders; AQM/E-X06 Gunbarrel Strike Gundam: 4x Wired Beam Gunbarrel, mounted on back

**Model number:** GAT-X305CC  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Raven Chris Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> Prototype Attack Use Transformable Mobile Suit  
><strong>Manufacturer:<strong> Morgenrate  
><strong>Operator:<strong> EA  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Advance Ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features:<strong> Enhanced sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; hard-points for mounting Striker packs Weapons  
><strong>Fixed Armament<strong>: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, 2x beam saber (mounted on the hips), 1x dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon (usable in both modes)  
><strong>Mobile Armor Mode fixed Armament<strong>: 2x "Ahura Mazda" short-range energy cannon, 2x M2M3 76mm machinegun; 2 x AIM-957F "King Cobra" missiles, mounted on shoulders, beside short-range energy cannons

**Model number:** GAT-X310LC  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Raptor Liz Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> Prototype Transformable Attack Mobile Suit  
><strong>Manufacturer:<strong> Morgenrate  
><strong>Operator:<strong> EA  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
><strong>Equipment and design features: <strong>sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; hard-points for mounting Striker packs Weapons  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x beam saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; shield, mounted on left arm; 4x missile pods with 10x Hydra missile's per pod, stored in shield, usable only in jet form, 2 x Gatling Cannons, mounted on waist

**Optional armaments:** Type 71-beam rifle, stored on hip, hand carried in use, mounts on main body in jet form

**Model number:** GAT-X001GHC  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Golden Hero Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> Prototype CQC Mobile Suit  
><strong>Manufacturer:<strong> Morgenrate  
><strong>Operator:<strong> EA  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> ARC Reactor  
><strong>Equipment and design features: <strong>sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; Pananormic Cockpit (From Zeta Gundam) ARC Drive System;  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x beam saber, mounted on shoulders, hand-carried when in use; 2x Beam Dagger, Hidden in lower waist, hand-carried when in use; 2x Exia Sword/Rifle (Retractable, fixed on arms, retracts to Forearms when not in use, In hand when in use.); Beam Shield, mounted on Exia Kai's; 2 x 5.9m 'Dauntless' Anti-ship Katana Sword, mounted on hips, hand-carried when in use;

**Optional armaments:** Beam Magnum (Like the RX-0 Unicorn's);

**Model number:** GAT-X002SWC  
><strong>Code name:<strong> Silver Warrior Custom  
><strong>Unit type:<strong> Prototype CQC Mobile Suit  
><strong>Manufacturer:<strong> Morgenrate  
><strong>Operator:<strong> EA  
><strong>Accommodation:<strong> pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> ARC Reactor  
><strong>Equipment and design features: <strong>sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor; Pananormic Cockpit (From Zeta Gundam) ARC Drive System;  
><strong>Fixed armaments:<strong> 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x beam saber, mounted on shoulders, hand-carried when in use; 2x "Armor Schneider" combat knives (Hidden in thigh holsters), 2x "Kotetsumaru" Katana's (Holstered on hips), 1x "Senkoumaru" Naginata (Holstered on back); 2 x Palm-mounted beam cannon; Buster shield, mounted on left Forearm;

**Optional armaments:** Beam Magnum (Like the RX-0 Unicorn's); Advance Beam Scythe;

**Model Number:** GAT-X317AC  
><strong>Code Name:<strong> Thunder Amy Custom  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype Custom Transformable High-Speed Ariel attack Mobile Suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Advance Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Equipment and Design Features:<strong> sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift Armor;  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2 x beam saber, mounted in front skirt, hand-carried when in use; Shield/Heat Blade, mounted on left knee fin when in MA mode, left fore-arm mounted when in use; Beam SMG, holstered on lower back when not in use, underneath when in MA mode, hand-carried when In use, usable in both modes; 2 x Wrist-mounted 90mm Gatling guns; 2 x Wing-mounted sabers, usable only in MA mode;

**Optional Armaments:** 2 x arm-mounted rocket launcher; 18 x Bombs; 14 x Missiles  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Amy Serria  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the GN-003 Kyrios  
><strong>Colors:<strong> White with blue trim.

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** GAT-01E 'Aviator' Graham Aker Custom  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom Transformable Ariel Assault mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> E-Carbon (Stores Hydrogen); Solar energy system  
><strong>Special Equipment<strong>:  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x Plasma Sword; Defense Rod, mounted on right elbow; 20mm Machine Gun, mounted hear the cockpit drum; 6 x 'Hydra' missile pods, 5 x missiles per pod, only usable in MA mode;

Optional Armament: XLR-04 200 Experimental 'Trident Striker' Linear Rifle, 200mm Linear Rifle, 2 x 60mm Linear cannon;  
><strong>Pilot(s):<strong> Graham Aker  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the SVMS-01E Union FLAG Graham Aker Custom  
><strong>Color:<strong> Black with Orange Visor  
><strong>Info:<strong> The Customized unit used by famous Natural Ace Graham Aker

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-602F GuAIZ 'Fury Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy Battery  
><strong>Special Equipment<strong>: Sensors, Range Unknown;  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x MA-MV03 Composite Shield, mounted on forearms; 2 x MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS, fire-linked on head; 2 x MMI-M20S "Pollus IX" railgun, mounted on hips;  
><strong>Pilot(s):<strong> Sayla Hellfury  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like a ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, only with the GuAIZ R's Rail cannons, and not just one, but two Composite shields with beam claws integrated into them.

**Color:** Black with Purple Trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> The Custom mobile suit used by Sayla Hellfury.

_**Inca**_**-Class:**

**Class: Inca**

**Unit Type: Light Cruiser**

**Manufacturer: Zaft**

**Ships of the Line: Inca, Medusa, Zeus, Vigilance, Cerberus, Kato, Hyperion, Ravager, Imperial, Blade, Storm shadow, Valkyrie, **

**Operator(s): Zaft**

**Equipment and Design Features: Sensors range unknown**

**Fixed Armaments: 5x Duel-Barrel High-energy beam cannon, 10x duel-barrel 120mm Machine gun turret, 10x Missile Launcher**

**Mobile Weapons: 5 in**

**Capitan(s):**

**Colors: Olive Green**

**Author's Notes: looks like the Musai-Class Light Cruiser **

_**Zulu**_**-Class:**

**Class: Zulu**

**Unit Type: Assault Carrier**

**Manufacturer: Zaft**

**Ships of the Line: Zulu, Zanzibar, Athens, Hercules, Coagulation, Descendant**

**Operator(s): Zaft**

**Equipment and Design Features: Sensors range unknown**

**Fixed Armaments: 1x Duel barrel main gun, 1x Mega Particle Cannon, 5x twin-barrel machine gun, 1x Missile Launcher**

**Mobile Weapons: 6 **

**Capitan(s):**

**Colors: Sage Green**

**Author's Notes: looks like the Zanzibar-Class Assault Carrier **


	11. Chapter 10: What once was lost

Opening Theme: 'Strength' by Abingdon Boys School

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Kw8LGEUYRqU

"Speaking"

"_Radio_"

'_Thoughts_'

_Flashbacks_

**_AN: This fic was boosted to M Rating FOR A REASON! If you do not like Lemons, then simply DONT READ THE LEMONS. _**

The mood aboard the Archangel was not a good one, they had just lost two of their best pilots on the ship and their fate was uncertain, listed as MIA (Missing in Action). Chris after going through their room with Liz to pack their personal belongs when they found on Ryu's desk a piece of paper containing the password and user name to his laptop.

After gathering the others, Chris activated it and had found plans and designs for upgrading their suits for in atmosphere combat along with a short video of his will:

"_To the one who is hearing this,_" it said showing Ryu sitting in his desk with Kira sleeping on their bed in the background "_What I feared has come to pass and I may now be dead, this is my final testament to my friends, this is my will," _

"_I was the original designer of the G-weapons, or Gundams as we now call them, the Dynasty was my concept, and I can see its influence in the rest of them, And Jordan, I also see the influence of your Model with the ARC-equipped mobile suits as well."_

"S_o using my original designs I planned out a series of upgrades that will allow your suits to become more powerful, along with each blueprint is a semi-intelligent AI based off of my personality and knowledge that will aid you in properly construct the upgrades,_"

Ryu turned and smiled at Kira who was sound asleep "_I do this to give my friends the weapons to fight and protect for what they believe is the truth. I also have included a frequency code for the Mercenary Mobile Suit Force known as Terminal, they have access to mobile suit construction facilities and if you can get a hold of them they will provide you with supplies and parts, for a price of course. If any of the Pilots are listening to this especially Kira, people my believe that the G stood for Genocide, but it wasn't, it stands for Genesis, these Gundams in the right hands can bring about a new beginning while you may not have inherited my will, I hope you fight to change this world and bring it one step closer to unity." _

Ryu then sighed. "_Jordan…If I hadn't told you this already…I knew your Father…your Real Father._" Jordan and Matthew stiffened. "_He, myself, and another of our friends helped design all of the Gundams. I do not know where he is at the time, however…I do know what kind of man he was._" Ryu smiled. "_Your Father, Alen Takeo, was a great man._" He said. "_A prodigy in mobile suit combat like me. He held family higher over everything…when…When I first met you at Heliopolis; I couldn't believe my eyes that you were his youngest son. When I asked Gineta…she confirmed it, but she told me not to tell you who your Real Father was…she said it was for the best. But please, don't be mad at your Parents. Your Mother told me you're Father left in order to protect you, and your mother. He always loved you, and he still does. All I can do now is wish you the best of luck. Computer End recording._"

The Pilots all just stared at the computer screen now. "Even in death…" Graham said. "He helps you guys as much as he can…"

"What, are you giving up on them that quickly?" Jordan demanded, glaring at the ace pilot.

Graham sighed. "Jordan…face the facts." He said. "The two still had a whole Zaft fleet to worry about…they couldn't-"

"Bullshit!" Jordan shouted, shocking many of the others. "After all the time we've know those two, after _everything _they've all been through, what we've _all _been through, can you honestly say that a fleet like that could have killed them? They are both _MIA. _They are just _MISSING IN ACTION!_ None of us saw them get killed, so I am going to believe that somehow, someway, those two are alive." He then looked at his Brother. "Three years ago I thought my own Brother was killed in the Bloody Valentine. I gave up all hope that he could be alive. But look now, he's standing right in front of me." He then glared at the others. "If Matthew could survive, then so could Ryu and Kira! And I am going to keep on clinging to that hope."

There was a whole minute of Silence. "Jordan's Right," Darknal said, standing up. "Ryu and Kira are tougher than that. They could…no, they _are _alive."

"I agree with them too." Chris said, and Liz nodded. "After all we've been through…I'm sure their just fine…tired as hell, but still fine."

"If Jordan believes that they could be alive…I believe so too." Amy said firmly.

"Same here," Hikari said, nodding her head.

Graham sighed. "That's some slim hope you're riding on." He said. But he then smiled. "But…if what I heard about the Dragon is true, then he should have been able to cut through those ships easily."

Since then, all of the Pilots clung to the hope that Ryu and Kira were fine. They threw themselves at the Upgrades to the Gundam's and the other Mobile units. Getting the designs and collaborating with Johanna, Murdoch and the Semi-Intelligent AI Ryu left behind to get the upgrades going. Darknal had also used the same concept with the AI and created his own AI variant and downloaded it into his GINN to help him piloting it.

Meanwhile Liz had been making occasional visits to Yuuka down in the brig talking with her and trading stories about their past experiences and their lives growing up.

Mu was the most effected out of the pilots having been like a brother to Ryu and started to see Kira as a little sister as well he locked himself in his room for a day only to come out the next day with a rough design plan for upgrading the captured Lightning using the remaining weapons of the Strike Dynasty, and the Hyperion. Outside of working on his suit he was far more quiet than usual usually seen in the Tactical Planning Room trying to figure out a plan for getting to Alaska without incurring major losses.

The Heliopolis enlistees had thrown themselves into their jobs with Tolle putting himself through simulator after simulator training himself to be the pilot for the Skygraspers they received.

Murrue sighed as she looked over the reports "Morale is at an all time low," she murmured to herself "and our fighting strength is severely reduced right now with the loss of Kira and Ryu."

"That is true," Natarle agreed, the ensign had been impacted by the pair's sacrifice and was doing her best to think more openly instead of within the confines of military rules and regulation "However the entire crew is completely determined to see this through to the end. And many of the pilots, especially Jordan, believe that Ryu and Kira could still be alive. In all honesty…I hope they survived too."

Murrue nodded in agreement "Let's hope that's enough." She declared as she stared out over the desert.

_Desert_

"So this is the new warship of the Earth Alliance?" a Blonde haired 23 year old said, looking through binoculars with a mug of coffee in his hand. "What do they call it again?"

"The _Archangel_," replied a blond haired girl.

Another man, a younger boy looking to be about 17 with black hair, and dark blue eyes, chuckled.

"That's funny considering the ship has been more like an Angel of Doom for the Earth Forces. Heliopolis, Artemis Base, Admiral Halberton and the 8th Fleet, all lost after coming into contact with that ship, while the ship itself escapes," he said. "Of course, the fact that it has survived all those encounters is testament to its crew, its mobile suits and the very ship itself. They're just what we need to push Waltfield out of the area." The man finished.

"Well, seeing who was with them, it's not that hard to believe." Said a young 16 year old girl with long dirty blonde hair, and Laughing Green eyes said. "That's…if he's still onboard…"

The black haired teen smiled as he put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sure he's onboard, Jade." He said reassuringly. Jade nodded slowly. "I hope so Drake…" she whispered.

Sahib Ashman, the leader of the rebels, nodded. "How do you know they'll be willing to aid us, John?"

John Cypher cleared his throat. "Because they're just as desperate as us, they're in the middle of enemy territory. They have no clue as to the recent events here on Earth. And they're in the Tiger's backyard. They have no choice but to seek our aid."

"Chief!" shouted a rebel. "We just received word. The Tiger's left the _Lesseps_ with a team of BuCUEs. He's heading for that ship."

"Should we help them out?" asked Drake.

"No. Not quite yet," answered John. "We need to see their strength with our own eyes first. And if they fall here, then they weren't strong enough to help us defeat the Tiger anyway."

"But sir, Isn't it true that Ryu could be onboard?" Drake Connor asked. This fact caused John to bite his lip slightly. "I know that, Drake." He said. "But we can't be too hasty. Even for his sake. Besides," he took another sip from his Coffee. "This _Is _The Dragon of Endymion, and his personally trained friends we're talking about." John grinned. "I think they will be just fine. But still, best have the rest of the team ready to jump in if they need help."

He then turned to the others. "Drake, Jade, get to the others and tell them to mount up." he ordered. "I want Calista in a sniping Position ASAP, Jade, get your Specter ready for some air Support. Drake, you and Jake are to get in your suits too." The two saluted. "Yes, Sir!" they replied as they got into their own Jeep, and sped off.

_Archangel_

Jordan yawned as he made his way to his room with Amy. "So pretty much, Darknal installed his AI into the GINN so that even while he's sniping, the AI can maneuver the GINN around when it's in the air." He said reading off the current upgrades on the suits. "The Thunder, Raven, and Raptor's Advance Atmospheric Flight systems are still in progress, but should be finished by the morning. But we got the Hero's Land-hovering system prepared along with those new Exia Kai II Dagger/Pistols. Mu is moving the Light wave barrier shields from the Hyperion and is going to add them to the Lightning along with a few other of its armaments, as well as adding hard points so that it can use Striker Packs. And we gave some Mirage Colloid to the Raven." He sighed as he put the report away. "Well, I'd say things are going more smoothly than we expected." He admitted.

"Thanks to you, of course." Amy said, surprising Jordan. "Jordan, that little speech you gave to the others actually boosted their moral a bit. Everyone is hoping that maybe Ryu and Kira could be alive. And now, there looking at you for support."

"Me?" he asked incredulously. "Why me? I mean, sure Ryu promoted me, but I'm not leadership material!"

"You are, we know you are." Amy said firmly. "Listen, With Ryu and Kira gone for now, we need someone to follow, a leader. Sure, Mu is Ok, but he's no commander. And neither is Murrue. _You _can do it. You've come up with plenty ideas in the past, like when we ambushed Zaft at Heliopolis to get to Artemis." She then grabbed his arm. "I _know _you can do it, Jordan." She stated firmly. "We all do."

Jordan stared at Amy for a minute, before sighing. "I guess you're right, Amy." He admitted as they reached their quarters.

An Idea came to Amy's mind, and she blushed a bit, but thought it was Ok. "Ya know…being a commander now that means you must have a _lot _of stress, right?" Jordan blinked, and nodded. "Ya, so?" he asked.

Amy then walked forward, swaying her hips in a fashion causing Jordan to blush. "Well…maybe I could…_relieve _some of that tension…" She trailed off with an impish grin as she ran her hand along his slightly stiff cock.

Jordan was looking like a ripe tomato when Amy had said that while she sported her own light blush while she giggled "I want to do this Jordan," Amy whispered seductively into his ear as she pressed her chest up against him "So make sure you're ready to return the… '_Favor_'."

Jordan nearly choked at her tone of voice and actually did choke when he heard her statement "Holy crap..." he muttered before the information overloaded his brain and fainted.

Amy blinked as Jordan fell unconscious. "Wow…I think I broke him." She said to no one. Suddenly she grinned as an Idea popped in her head…

_Jordan's Room_

******LEMON ALERT!**** (Skip to next warning if you are under legal age for your country or you do not like Lemons.) Note this is my first attempt at a Lemon, so it's probably gonna suck. **

Jordan groaned as he felt something warm rub against his cock making stiff as a board, opening his eyes slightly he immediately shut them again at the sight of Amy in her underwear, somehow in the room they shared. "This has to be a dream," he moaned as she rubbed against the tent in his boxers "A really good dream, but a dream nonetheless."

Jordan suddenly yelped when Amy pinched his arm with a grin "You're not dreaming _Jordan_," she amended in a sultry tone that made his dick twitch as she slid his boxers off. "This is very, _very_ real." With that she licked his member from base to top making Jordan let out a low groan in response.

Grinning, Amy took a moment to remove her Bra, fully revealing her B-Cup breasts to Jordan, whose Jaw dropped instantly. "Like what you see?" She asked in a seductive tone, and Jordan just nodded dumbly.

Continuing where she left off, she grabbed his slightly above average sized cock, and she quickly brought it into her mouth, as she started bobbing her head up and down while swirling her tongue around it.

As for Jordan, he had honestly never felt this good as Amy was actually giving him a Blow-job. To be fair, he was still thinking this was a dream, however he decided that if it was…he was going to enjoy it for as long as he could.

Amy for her part had begun to truly get into the act enjoying the way Jordan tasted, but also the sounds her actions drew from him. When Jordan said, "I'm cumming," she decided to catch his load with her mouth. However she was surprised at just how much there was as he exploded inside her mouth. Catching as much as she could she couldn't believe that it actually made her cheeks bulge before leaking from her mouth.

Swallowing as best she could she found him to be quite bitter but knew that if he asked her again that she would gladly drop down to her knees. Jordan for his part smiled at her as she brought a finger to her chin to trace a line of cum that had escaped and brought it to her mouth liking it clean. She smiled at him showing some of the more confident and sure as she asked, "How was that?"

"In all honesty…greatest experience of my life so far." Jordan admitted as he grinned. "But now…I think it's your turn."

Jordan then moved towards her legs, and started to rub the wet area that developed between her legs, making her moan lustfully.

Jordan grinned at the Reaction as he gently rubbed her through her panties before removing them and viewing her wet entrance.

"Beautiful." He muttered, causing Amy to blush. She then gasped suddenly as she felt Jordan's fingers begin to fiddle with her entrance. "Oh god…" she muttered.

Jordan just grinned as he slipped his fingers into her moist entrance and started to slowly pump it in and out of her as he also started to suck on her left breast, and slowly he picked up the paste, causing her moans to grow louder. As Amy neared her climax Jordan pulled back from her breast and gazed into Amy increasingly cloudy gaze before placing his lips to hers. She responded immediately to the kiss, meeting his tongue with her own in a duel. The kiss only ended when Jordan gave her clit a gentle squeeze sending her over the edge "Jordan I-I'm C-Cumming!" Amy warned, as did so covering Jordan's hand in her release.

Jordan pulled his hand out of her entrance, and gave it a lick. "You taste pretty good Amy." He commented, causing said girl to blush. He began to lower her down towards his lap but stopped as she came into contact with his revitalized cock. Amy couldn't believe how hot it felt against her lower lips, and wondered why Jordan stopped.

"Now, you sure you want to do this?" Jordan asked, and Amy nodded. "Ya…when you kinda fainted, I stole a few of Hikari's birth control pills. We're fine." Jordan blushed a bit, remembering that. "As curious as I am to how and why Hikari would have those, we have bigger things to worry about." Jordan said. "This is probably gonna hurt at first."

"I know, I'm ready." Amy said. With a quick nod, he Leaned forward he kissed her and as she kissed him back plunged passed her hymen. She tensed and screamed into his mouth. Jordan began to kiss along her face and neck giving Amy the chance to grow accustomed to the feeling of him as well as to allow the pain to diminish. Eventually she cupped his face saying, "I'm ready."

Jordan began to move inside of her slowly and languidly, but Amy soon wanted more and when she began to try raised her hips to meet his in a hurried tempo he began to increase his own pace as well. "Mo-mo-more" Amy pleaded.

Instead of responding to her request he rolled them over so that she was on top and stopped moving completely. She stared down at him with a pout he found adorable, but she eventually began to raise and lower herself over his tool. Soon she was riding him at a brisk pace when she suddenly tensed as she experienced her second orgasm of the night. Her tightening grip around his cock almost sent him over the edge but he managed to restrain himself.

Amy collapsed forward breathing hard against his chest, but upon realizing that Jordan had yet to cum began to once more move her hips. As she did that she also began to run her tongue over his nipple moving back and forth between them. Responding in kind Jordan began raising his hips to meet Amy causing her to lift her head away to shout out, "Jordan I-I'm Cumming!"

"S-same here Amy!" he replied, Feeling his release Amy threw her head back experiencing her third orgasm of the night.

After their respective releases, they sat in the middle of the bed and the two lovers stared into each other's eyes before kissing gently.

"That was…that…wow." Amy said.

"Same here," Jordan replied, grinning like a loon.

"I love you, Jordan." Amy said as she rested her head on his bare chest, her eyes closing.

Jordan smiled. "And I love you too, Amy." He said, and the two quickly found themselves asleep.

****** END LEMON!**** (You may begin reading again!)**

_A few hours later_

_ZAFT Camp_

"So that's the Legged Ship eh?" Andrew Waltfield questioned as he looked through a pair of binoculars at the prototype Carrier "The ship that The Dragon of Endymion, the Valkyrie of Heliopolis and Admiral Halberton gave their lives to defend."

"Their morale must be extremely low right now." His aide Martin DaCosta commented "It would be best to attack them now."

"True," the commander agreed with a frown "But knowing the Dragon he left a few surprises behind, order the BuCUEs to launch."

"Yessir," DaCosta complied with a salute.

Andrew continued to frown as he stared at the ship in thought.

_Archangel_

"The ship can be cooled by routing excess heat through the black hole exhaust system," said Chandra to Kuzzey, wanting to reassure the boy that they probably wouldn't have a fight on their hands in the near future. "As long as we can evade infrared scans by satellites, we just might pull this off. Our radar's unreliable, but that means theirs is too."

Begin Chandra, the main door of the bridge opened, and Tolle and Miriallia stepped through.

"We're here to begin our shift," said Mir.

"Don't give me that!" said Arnold scolding. "You're late!"

"Sorry," said Mir. Arnold just shook his head and decided not to worry about it as the two sat at their stations.

"All because of the Neutron jammers?" asked Kuzzey, returning to the subject he'd been on with Chandra before his friends arrived. "But isn't there a way to get rid of them?"

"Impossible," said Chandra, shaking his head. "They've been fired deep below the Earth's surface. We don't even know how many there are. If it were possible, someone would've done it already. Radio waves and fission-based energy have been adversely affected. But it's still a lot better than having nuclear missiles flying around all over the place. If ZAFT had retaliated in kind after the nuclear attack on Junius Seven, there would be no Earth right now."

"Anything unusual?" asked Natarle Badgiruel as she stepped unexpectedly into the bridge. Chandra nearly panicked as he quickly saluted.

"Sir!" he said. "Nothing detected!"

Natarle mentally noted Chandra's report as she walked to the front of the bridge and offered a bottle of water to Arnold.

"Do we have the data on the hull's distortion?" she asked.

"Yes. Thanks," said Arnold as he took the bottle. "These are just simple measurements. The stress distortion seems to be within acceptable limits, the details can be seen…" Arnold trailed off as he tried releasing the water bottle in mid-air and it dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"Ensign, please," said Natarle as she stepped around him and retrieved the bottle. "Try to remember we're no longer in a weightless state here on Earth."

"I-I'm sorry about that," he apologized.

"Look at the gravitational field," said Natarle, scanning Arnold's station read-out boards. "The underground caves are causing irregularities."

"What does that mean?" asked Tolle. Arnold turned his head to look at the copilot.

"Around here are abandoned mines for petroleum and natural gas deposits," he explained. "But our Intel was based on pre-war data, so we don't know the exact locations. Landing carelessly on the wrong spot could prove disastrous."

"I-is the spot we're on now okay?" asked Tolle nervously. Arnold looked at Natarle.

"It is, right?" he asked.

Natarle merely said "Hmm" as she straightened and began drinking her water.

Then the alarms went off, confusing everyone.

"Detecting lasers aimed at this ship," said Chandra from his station in the CIC. "Matching… confirmed! They're target designators!"

_**Meanwhile**_

"_All hands to level two Battlestations!_" Came Chandra's voice over the PA "_Repeat all hands to level two Battlestations!_"

Around the ship, sleeping crewmen woke up and hurriedly dressed themselves, bolting about their rooms before running off to their stations.

Flay herself didn't have a Battlestation to attend too. A moment after the alarm went off; she saw Jordan and Amy emerged from their quarters, running past Flay as if she wasn't there. She couldn't fault them for it, either, given that they were the _Archangel_'s primary defenders.

Of course, she _did_ blush like crazy seeing the state of disarray their clothes and Amy's hair were in. It seemed almost like they'd only just thrown on their uniforms, and while removing uniforms was normal when going to sleep, Flay couldn't keep her thoughts from turning to more mature possibilities, turning the girl's face as red as her hair.

_Later_

_Hanger_

Jordan climbed into the Cockpit of the Hero. "What's the status on the enemy force?"

"_Unknown._" Natarle said. "_We don't yet know the full strength of the enemy._"

"Alright…let me think…" Jordan said. "Alright, here is what we do. Chris, we just upgraded the Raven with Mirage Colloid. You launch first with it activated, and see what the enemy force is. Amy, Liz, you two launch next, and me and Matthew will follow. Our suits are not calibrated for Ground Combat yet, but I'll be working on that on the field. Darknal, you launch in the GINN and stay above the Archangel providing Sniper Support. Hikari, Graham, you two stay on stand-by. I don't want all of us in the battle at once, but if you see us in trouble, Launch. Mu, you stay on stand-by with the Sky Grasper with the others since the Hyperion isn't really the best for Ground Combat, and the Lightning is still in the works."

Everyone agreed, and the Raven was first to launch. "_Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, Launching!_"

The Raven disappeared first, and then launched to the skies. Coming up behind it was the Thunder and Raptor. "_Amy Sierra, Thunder, Taking off!_"

"_Liz Dante, Raptor Gundam, Lets go!_"

_Battlefield_

"Alright, I have visual now." Chris said as the Raven grazed across the skies. "Contacts confirmed. Several BuCUE's are surrounding the Area, along with additional Choppers for air support. I'm also receiving a _Lesseps-_class land battleship on the sensors."

"_Shit that means we're probably dealing with the Desert Tiger Andrew Waltfield._" Matthew said, drawing gasps from the others.

"_Keep your cool, guys!_" Jordan shouted. "_If we managed to beat Rau, we can beat Waltfield._"

It was then the Raptor and Thunder blasted out of the Archangel in MA mode. The two Ariel mobile suits moved against the Choppers, while shortly after the Hero and Warrior launched…and sank into the sand.

_With Matthew and Jordan_

"SHIT!" Jordan shouted as the Hero landed on the ground, armed with its Beam Magnum for the first time, only for the suit to sink into the sand.

Suddenly, from behind a sand dune, a pair of BuCUEs equipped with missile launchers fired a barrage at the Hero.

"Damn it, I knew it couldn't be that easy," Jordan said, dodging most of the missiles and gunning down the rest with his Igelstellungs.

From behind, however, a pair of high-velocity slugs flew through the air and hit his machine in the back, sending the Hero back crashing to the ground.

"Ugh," Jordan groaned, trying to pull the Hero to its feet, only to have the machine start sinking into the ground. "Damn it! Matthew, try to hold them off of me!" he shouted as he tossed the beam magnum over to the Warrior, who grabbed it. "_Will do!_" Matthew said as the Warrior jumped up to the air, and started firing.

However, his suit's calibrations were still off, so the shots were off, and didn't score many hits.

Matthew activated the Warrior's thrusters, flying back into the air, but a missile barrage struck his machine this time, sending him back to the ground. _Dammit! _He thought.

One of the BuCUEs firing missiles and the one that had blasted its railgun emerged from their hiding places and began circling the Black mobile suit. One lunged at him, but Matthew evaded, only having the other slam him from behind. "Shit!" Matthew yelled.

_With Amy, Chris, and Liz_

"Dammit, their getting pounded down there!" Chris shouted as the Thunder and Raptor flanked the Raven as they took down the enemy Choppers.

"_We have to help them!_" Liz shouted as she fired her machine guns destroying another Helicopter.

"_She's Right, we should-SHIT!_" Amy was interrupted as she banked left in order to avoid a series of missiles aimed at her. "_We've got additional Contacts! Four AMF-423 GeGET's Inbound!_"

"GeGET's?" Chris asked for confirmation. He looked through the Raven's screen, and sure enough four GeGET's were on approach. All four of them were Mostly Red with a black trimming.

"_Rot Squadron._" Amy said, surprising the others. "_Their one of the Hellfury Team's groundside squads. It's commanded by Detlef Fleisher, the Red Swallow._"

"_How do you know that?_" Liz asked.

"_Ryu gave me, Jordan and Matthew intel on the different 'Aggressor' teams the Hellfury team had in total, and what types of mobile suits they use._" She answered. "_Ryu said GeGET's use beam weapons, so we should be careful._"

The GeGET's then split up. Two of them headed for Chris and Liz, while the remaining two headed towards Chris.

Amy fired her SMG's at the mobile suits, but the two split up, one going to the left, the other flanked right. '_Let's hope Ryu's Upgrade's paid off!_' she thought as she switched the Thunder into MS mode, and inset of falling, it hovered in the air.

Waiting no time, Amy then fired her two Wrist-mounted 90mm Gatling's at both of the GeGET's, surprising them, and they backed away. Amy then pursued the left GeGET, drawing her Beam Saber for Close Combat.

The GeGET reacted quickly, and drew its own beam sabers, and caught Amy's.

Meanwhile, Chris and Liz were fighting against the other two GeGET's. Chris fired his 57mm shield cannon at his GeGET, though missing the suit, it hit its propellant tanks, but the GeGET ejected them before they exploded.

Liz, meanwhile fired a few Hydra missiles at her GeGET, however the GeGET fired its 110mm Machine Cannons from its wrists, and destroyed the missiles. Liz then fired her Waste Gatling cannons as she circled the GeGET, with it returning the Favor with its own 110mm's.

_Archangel_

"Their getting pounded out there!" Hikari shouted as she and Graham waited to launch. "Darknal, can't you help them!"

"_I'm trying as best as I can!_" Darknal said as his GINN flew over the Archangel. "_But These BuCUE's are pretty dam fast, and even with the A.I I'm having a tough time here!_"

"_That's it! We're launching!_" Graham ordered. "_Mu, you stay on stand-by! Hikari, you're with me!_"

"Got it! Hikari Sierra, Phoenix, Launching!"

"Graham Aker, Aviator, Heading out!"

_Zaft_

"Hmm." Andrew said as he saw the two units launched. "Those are the two unknowns?"

_Battle_

As Hikari and Graham Launched, and Matthew providing a great distraction using his Beam Magnum to keep the BuCUE's at bay, Jordan was typing away on the keyboard of the Hero trying to fix their little sand-problem.

_Contact pressure is decreased, so I better take that into account_, he thought to himself as he typed. _Estimate reduction in pressure. For friction coefficient, set granularity of the sand to minus 20._

The Hero landed, slid slightly down the dune… and stopped, standing atop the desert sand without effort.

"Bingo! Guy's, I'm sending you the OS modifications now!"

"_About fucking time!_" Matthew shouted, and a few second later, the Warrior finally started to stand on the sand.

Far away from the battle zone, beyond the range of any of the Earth Forces to detect, a ZAFT land battleship carried out the orders of the Desert Tiger, took aim with its main cannon… and fired.

On Miriallia's station display, Mu's face suddenly appeared.

"_The Skygrasper is ready to go,_" he said. "_I'm launching._"

"Incoming heat source from the southwest!" announced Chandra. "It's a cannon blast!"

"Take off, evasive maneuvers!" ordered Murrue immediately. The _Archangel_ did so, moving into the air, and attempting to avoid the cannon fire.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Natarle.

"Projected source: twenty kilometers southwest!" responded Sai.

"Afraid that's out of our range, so we can't mount a counterattack," said Jackie.

"_I'll go mark the enemy with my laser designator, and then you can fire your missiles at that target,_" Came Mu's voice.

"It's not like we have time to search for the enemy," said Natarle.

"_We won't know until we try,_" said Mu as he readied his Skygrasper on the catapult. "_Just don't them get you before then._"

The Skygrasper moved onto the port catapult.

"_La Flaga, standby,_" came Mir's voice as the catapult opened. "_Course cleared for launch. System, all green._"

Mu heard her words and launched his Skygrasper.

Andy's eyes narrowed as he focused his binoculars on the fighter that had just emerged from the _Archangel_'s catapult.

"That machine wasn't mentioned in the report," he murmured.

"Second wave approaching!" warned Chandra.

"Evade it!" ordered Murrue. "All hands, prepare for sudden impact!"

"It'll be a direct hit!" said Chandra.

"No, the _Archangel_!" Jordan cried. Then, behind his eyes, a Golden seed burst in an explosion of silver light. And the Hero began to Glow.

Andy frowned. _It's that mode again. _He thought as golden light appeared though the Hero's body.

Jordan jumped into the air. "Hikari, Graham, fire your cannons into the sand," I said. "It should provide some cover."

Opening up with their machine cannons, Graham and Hikari did as told, creating a cloud of sand around them. The Hero leapt up, Exia Kai's in beam rifle mode, and he took careful aim as he evaded a railgun shot by a BuCUE.

He squeezed the trigger, and the single beam of energy pierced three of the high-velocity rounds, drawing gasps of shock from all the onlookers. He then fired repeatedly at the remaining cannon shells, destroying all of them before they could reach the _Archangel _in blinding speed.

When he landed, he holstered his Exia Kai III's, and drew out his newest armaments, his two Exia Kai II Dagger/Pistols (**AN: They look like those weird pistol/Dagger things those guys from FF7 Advent Children had**). "We gotta hold 'em off!" he shouted as he fired them in pistol mode.

_Meanwhile_

Matthew snarled as his suit was knocked back by the missiles being rained down upon them by the helicopters "Fucking hell!" he swore as he swerved between two BuCUEs and used his beam saber to slash the apart "Guy's how are you doing on Power?"

"_I'm fine for now,_" Liz informed as she destroyed a helicopter that was attempting an attack run on her brother. "_Most of us are Fine, but we won't last long._"

"_When this is over,_" Jordan said as he kicked back a BuCUE, "_Remind me to upgrade the Hero and Warrior with those Energy transfer cables onto our suits. That should help us out in the future._"

"_Ya that would be a good idea,_" Chris said. As he spoke he evaded a GeGET that was trying to dissect him with its beam saber only for a series of missiles to hit him forcing him to the ground. "Oh no." he whispered as his energy levels depleted, and his suit's P.S armor faded away and he saw a BuCUE coming around for another pass.

"CHRIS_!_" Liz shouted in desperation sharply turning the Raptor nearly knocking herself unconscious from the G-forces of the maneuver, but even with the high speed turn she would not be able to save him.

Chris saw the BuCUE coming, he could still move the suit, but without Phase-Shift, the armor was pretty much nonexistent, and he couldn't dodge the missiles forever. '_No,_' he thought to himself as he saw a grayish green seed fly through his mind '_I can't die like this,_' the seed revolved once '_I owe it to Ryu and Kira to __SURVIVE!_' The seed exploded as his irises shrank and his eyes dulled. Shifting his suit he slid under the flying BuCUE grabbing the underside of its head and slammed it onto the ground quickly leveling his rail guns on the BuCUE and pulled the trigger destroying the suit, unfortunately due to the proximity his own suit was sent tumbling back from the blast.

As a GeGET moved in against him, however, the Hero then appeared in between them, firing its Exia Kai II's; tearing apart it's left arm and leg. Damaged, the GeGET had enough ah retreated.

"_Chris, I'll help you get back to the ship. Graham, Hikari, get Liz. She got knocked unconscious from the G-Forces of that turn she made._"

_Meanwhile_

"Captain!" called Mir. "The Thunder, and Raptor, is low on power, and Raven is out of power! They won't last much longer!"

"Damn it," muttered Natarle.

"Can we provide any support?" asked Murrue, even though she already knew the answer.

"Not in this situation," said Romero Pal. Flay stared out the forward viewport in horror as the enemy closed in on the vulnerable Gundams.

_Meanwhile_

"The proper timing and application of force is the true way to win a battle, Waltfield. Even a pinprick can be fatal if aimed correctly." John then smiled. "Calista, Open up!"

_Battlefield_

Suddenly, a trio of shots rang out. Two choppers and a railgun barrel of a BuCUE exploded. A Red/White trimmed GINN High Maneuver type, covered in a tan tarp, armed with a sniper rifle, was lying on a sand dune a fair distance away. The GINN rose to its feet, its crimson monoeye scanning across the battlefield.

"Amazing, to be able to hit three separate targets so quickly and from that far away, that sniper's almost as good as the Katana's," said DaCosta.

It was then, that several other mobile suits appeared from the dunes. The first was a Blue/White CGUE with a DEEP arm's sword; the second was a Crimson Red ZGMF-602 GuAIZ Fury Custom.

While the GINN provided sniper support, the CGUE and GuAIZ sped towards the battle, the GuAIZ's two beam claw shields activated, and the CGUE's Beam Sword activated as they sped towards them.

However, then two _more _mobile suits appeared, and they drew the most attention.

The first looked similar to the Phoenix, but had a more sleek appearance, and was currently in MIX mode. The second was oddly similar to the Strike, but the head was definitely different, and it was White, Black and Silver.

The Phoenix-like suit fired its Gun-pod at a BuCUE tearing it apart. While the Silver mobile suit fired a 540mm Scylla cannons at the enemy, taking out two choppers and another BuCUE.

"_YEEHAW!_" an unknown voice said on the Radio. "_Jade did you see that! That was totally awesome! I Love this suit!_"

"_I saw it Drake, I saw it._" A second female voice said. "_And you said that almost a million times now._"

Then, a band of rebel vehicles appeared over several sand dunes, firing missiles at the BuCUEs and helicopters. While their weapons were inferior to the weapons of the BuCUEs, they were major distraction to the mobile suits, and took another chopper out of commission.

One jeep parked next to the Hero and fired a cable to the Hero's leg.

"_Pilot of the Earth Forces mobile suits, if you want to live, follow my instructions,_" a voice said over the comm. "_We've set a trap at this location. Lure the BuCUEs there._"

"_You gotta be kidding me,_" said Graham.

"_Um, hello? They have like 5 mobile suits here, and we're in trouble. I say we trust them._" Amy said on the Radio.

"Definitely," said Matthew. "We don't have any real choice."

"_No, we don't,_" Jordan said. "_Alright, let's go._"

Taking to the air, their Gundam's soared over the sand for the target location as the jeeps spread out away from us. As they stopped at the location of the trap, they turned around, and prepared their combat stances.

As the BuCUEs leapt at them, they all leapt backwards.

Waltfield, who had been frowning in confusion over the strange tactics of the mobile suits, gasped in sudden realization. Unfortunately, it was too late to do anything about it.

A series of sudden explosions surrounded the BuCUEs, before one final explosive went off, consuming the mobile suits in a massive ball of fire. "BOOMCHAKALAKA!" Darknal yelled. "Now _that's _an explosion!"

The Gundam's landed on the sand and collapsed to their knees as the last of the combat power was drained from their batteries, their armor fading back to dull grey. With the Exception of Jordan and Matthew's, and the Golden glowing Hero's ARC system disengaged.

"We're withdrawing," said Andrew. "We've achieved our immediate goal."

_Later_

"Local guerilla fighters huh?" Jordan mused as he looked out using suit's cameras, a flash of blond hair caught his eye and he zoomed in to see the girl they shoved into the life pod from Heliopolis "Hey Guys, look at the person fifth from the left."

"_Hey isn't that the girl we saved?_" Chris asked when he spotted the blonde "_What is she doing here?_"

"I don't know," Amy replied "But there's the Captain and Commander La Flaga."

_With Murrue_

Mu sighed as he walked beside Murrue with a hand hovering over his sidearm '_Huh, never before have I treated strangers with open suspicion,_' he thought to himself as he took in each person standing there before quickly glancing to the mobile suits standing in their silent vigil '_Maybe it's because protecting this ship and crew is my homage to Ryu and Kira._' Turning back to their saviors he saw a stocky man with a full beard step forward.

The GINN, the two unknowns, the CGUE, and the GuAIZ, upon arriving, knelt down, and the cockpit opened, the pilot's clambering out to join his comrades.

"It's only proper that we should thank you," said Murrue as they came to a stop. "After all, your group did save our ship and mobile suits."

"Murrue Ramius, Earth Forces," continued the captain, introducing herself. "I'm with the 8th Fleet."

The bearded man who seemed to be the leader held an arm up in front of the young man, silencing him.

"Our group is known as the Desert Dawn," he said. "I go by the name of Sahib Ashman. You need not bother thanking us. I'm sure you understand. The reason we were fighting was not necessarily to save you. We attacked them only because they also happen to be our enemy."

"You guys versus the Desert Tiger?" said Mu. "Fighting for awhile?"

Sahib glanced at Mu. "I recognize you," he said. "But I cannot say how or from where."

"That's Mu La Flaga. The Hawk of Endymion," said a young man in a Red trench coat, with mid-length blonde hair and blue eyes hidden behind a pair of Sunglasses. Followed by two others, a young girl with Crimson red hair, and purple eyes, and another young boy with Brown hair, and the oddest eyes Mu had ever seen. His left was Ice blue, while his left was Dark brown. They were the pilots of the GINN, CGUE, and GuAIZ.

Mu Smiled. "Well, It's good to see you three again, John, Calista, Jake." He said.

The Blonde, John Cypher, smiled and nodded. "Great to see you again Mu," He said. "Still stuck with mobile armors?"

"Not for long, buddy," Mu said as he turned to the others. "Guys, these are John Cypher, Calista Shae, and Jake Ranger. Their Mercenaries from Saber team, a group of Merc's the Falcon team would work with occasionally."

"It's a pleasure." Murrue said, nodding. "You strike me as well informed people; do you know who we are?"

"You are the crew of the _Archangel_, the Earth Forces new warship," said Sahib. "You came to Earth to escape the Le Creuset Team, and Hellfury team. Those machines of yours are…"

"X305 Raven, X310 Raptor, X001 Hero, X002 Warrior, and X317 Thunder" said the blond girl. Sahib frowned, and stepped between her and the two Earth Forces officers.

"So here we are. How good it is that you know who we are and we know who you are," said Sahib. "Though I am surprised that you are here, I assume that you landing here was an accident. So I'm curious to know what you plan to do next."

"Can we count on your complete cooperation?" asked Murrue. Sahib smirked, almost smugly.

"If you're serious about talking, then you should lower your weapons," he said, before glancing at the mobile suits. "They should disarm as well."

Murrue was quiet for a moment.

"Very well," she said finally. She turned to the mobile suits and activated the small radio she kept with her. "Jordan, Matthew, Liz, Chris, Darknal, Amy, Hikari, Graham, you heard him." She said.

The team responded as they exited their suits, and approached them. Jordan looked over to the others, he saw short nod's from them, and they reached for their helmets and took them off, once their helmets were clear from their faces the assembled guerrilla fighters gasped in surprise "Their so young." Sahib murmured as the blond girl growled and stomped towards the pair startling the ones closest to her.

"YOU!" She shouted "What are _you_ doing in _those_ suits!"

Me, and the others looked at her calmly as she approached them. Matthew turned too Jordan. "Friend of yours?" he asked, and he chuckled. "No, we only met back at Heliopolis just before you and Zaft attacked."

"I don't see what that has to do with you," Chris commented blandly at the blonde "And shouldn't you be in ORB right now?"

The girl growled and moved to strike Jordan when she suddenly had a pair of pistols pointing at her from Amy and Hikari, both groups stiffened as Mu moved in front of Murrue and the hidden security team tensed while the guerrilla fighters tensed for action as well

"I wouldn't suggest doing that again," Hikari advised coldly, surprising those listening that the normally gentle girl could sound so cold "We've just recently lost some _very_ good friends, and we'll be damned to let it happen again." The pilots passed by the dumbstruck blond and they saluted to the captain.

Jordan then glanced at the two unknown suits, for they had yet to reveal their pilots. "Now, are you gonna show use those suit's pilots?" he asked, pointing at them.

"Ah, right" John said. "Drake, Jade, get out here."

"_Right, we're coming._" Drake said as the suits cockpits opened up, and two pilots climbed down to meet them.

When they arrived, they removed their helmets. The first was male, probably about as old and Jordan was. He stood an inch taller than Jordan, had Raven black hair, and blue eyes. He had a look about him that reminded Jordan of himself.

The second was female, looking to be about 16. She was two inches shorter than the boy, had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and laughing green eyes. But, the strangest thing was…for some reason she reminded the others of Ryu in a way.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves." The boy said. "I'm Drake Connor; I pilot the MBF-P05 Astray Silver Frame." He pointed up at the 'Silver Frame' and he then gestured to the girl. "And this is Jade Hisanaga, pilot of the TMVF-01 Specter."

When he said 'Hisanaga' that caused the other's eyes to fly wide. "Jade _Hisanaga?_" Mu asked incredulously. "Would you…by any chance…be related to a _Ryu _Hisanaga?"

Jade's eyes went wide. "Y-yes." She said. "Ryu's…well, he's my Older Brother."

There was a whole Minute's worth of silence. "W-wait," Jordan said. "Ryu told us that all of his family was killed when Victor Amsel destroyed Oratorio." Jade shivered a bit, but Drake put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I almost did die…" Jade said. "But…John and the other found me…and saved me. I've been with them ever since." Jade then stepped forward. "I heard that My Brother is on the Archangel, where is he?" she asked.

"Maybe he was smart enough to leave, and go home." Cagalli muttered.

"Shut it, bitch." Matthew growled, surprising the others, even Jordan.

"We…don't know where Ryu and Kira are." Jordan said. "He and Kira were last seen in orbit fighting off a Zaft fleet with the remains of the 8th Fleet. We haven't heard from them since." Cagalli froze when she heard that as her eyes widened. As did Jade's.

"You-You mean…" Jade stuttered, tears developing in her eyes.

"We didn't say they died." Jordan stated firmly. "We're just saying we don't know what happened to them. I believe they survived, and I'm gonna keep on believing that until I see otherwise. I know their alive. I just know it." Jade stared at Jordan for a moment, and smiled. "Your right," She said. "I…I just gotta keep on hoping."

Jordan smiled, and nodded. "Well, seeing how you're Ryu's last Family, that means you are entitled to his belongings on the Archangel." Matthew said. "We'll take you to his room, if you want."

"Yes, thank you." She said, as Jordan, Matthew, Jade and Drake headed back to the ship.

As they left, John hummed as he eyed Jordan and Matthew. _'Yup, their his sons.' _He thought. He then unnoticeably grinned. '_Things are gonna be getting Real interesting now._'

_**Space, Hours after the Battle**_

A single red-trimmed white mobile suit shifted though the mobile suit along with a pair of Kirmera Salvager Pods, each unit was emblazoned with the symbol of the Junk Guild "Amazing!" The male pilot of the mobile suit literally squealed in excitement "Look at all this stuff, this is an amazing haul!"

"_Should we really be doing this Lowe?_" asked a female piloting one of the Kimeras "_I mean it only has been a couple of hours._"

"_Don't worry Kisato,_" the final pilot, a male, reassured "_This is also a rescue operation for any survivors._"

"_Liam's right,_" a female voice broke through from their mothership, the ReHOME "_Besides I'm picking a faint SOS signal right now, about a klick west from you current position._"

"Got it Professor," Lowe confirmed as he moved his mobile suit the Red Frame west and picked his way carefully through the wreckage until he came across something that made his eyes widen "Prof, you are not going to believe what I just found." He whispered in a soft voice as a pair of Mobile suits, both unerringly similar to his Red Frame, floated in front of them, one held the symbol of a sword flanked by a pair of wings while the second held the symbol of a dragon about to take flight "Hell, even I'm having trouble believing it and I'm looking right at it!"

_Meanwhile_

_Aztec-class Super Battleship_

Zar Hellfury walked into the ship's medical bay. Inside was the ship Doctor, as well as his own 'Son' lying on the bed, unconscious. "How is he?" he asked.

"Well, fine for the most part." The Doctor said. "But…well…"

"Well, what?" Zar asked.

"Well…look for yourself." He gestured to Kane. Zar looked, and his eyes widened. Kane's normally jet black hair was starting to turn into a grayish color. When the Doctor lifted his eyes open, Kane's eyes were even changing from being Blood Red, to being a faded Red/Green color. "I don't know what's causing it, but your son's physical attributes are changing at an alarming rate. But it doesn't seem to be lethal, this is very strange."

"Let me know if his condition changes." Zar said as he left the medial room.

A few hours later, the Doctor stepped out of the room to get something. However then a figure hidden in the shadows appeared "You desire power, the figure said. He had crimson red hair, with crimson red eyes, and stood at 6'2. "Power to crush those who oppose you," The figure then took out a syringe with a black liquid, and injected it into Kane's arm. "You will have your Power." He said as he walked out of the room. "In time."

**AN: Now, I know some of you are confused as to where the Silver Frame, and Saber Team came from, but don't worry. I am working on a fic that's like the SEED astray series that will explain who Saber Team is in full, and how Drake got the Silver Frame and all. I'll be posting it up soon, it will be called: 'Mobile suit Gundam SEED: Astray Miracle'**

Ending Theme: 'Unlimited Sky' by Tommy Heaveny6

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=QhDlnWE9qCQ

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** AMF-423 'GeGET'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Mass Produced Aerial/Space assault Mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors Range unknown; 2 x Ejectable External Propellant Tanks  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 4 x 110mm Machine Cannon, mounted on wrists; 2 x Beam sabers, holstered in shoulders, hand-carried when in use

**Optional Armament:** Beam Rifle  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Detlef Fleisher  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra  
><strong>Colors:<strong>

**Standard:** Pale Red

**Rot Colors:** Bright Red with black trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> Created to replace the AMF-101 DINN, the AMF-423 'GeGET' is the first Zaft Air assault mobile suit to use beam weapons, and can function in both space and in atmosphere. Several of these units were given to the Rot team.

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** MBF-P05 'Silver Frame'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Prototype General Purpose mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors Range unknown; Mirage Colloid (Blitz Pack)  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, fire-linked on head; 2x beam saber, mounted behind shoulders, hand-carried when in use;

**Optional Fixed Armament:**

**Astray Duel Pack:** 'Shiva' 11mm Railgun mounted on right shoulder; 220mm 5-barrel missile Pod mounted on left shoulder; 57mm High-energy beam rifle with 175mm Grenade Launcher; 2 x 9.1m Anti-ship sword, mounted on hips, hand-carried when in use;

**Astray Buster Pack:** 350mm Gun Launcher; 94mm High-energy Rifle; 2 x 220mm 6-barrel Missile Pod, mounted on shoulders; Combine Shield, 1 x Beam Boomerang, 1 x 6-barrel 30mm Gatling Cannon;

**Astray Blitz Pack:** 'Trikeros' offensive/Defensive shield system, 50mm High-energy Beam Rifle, 3 x Lancer Darts, Beam Saber; MA-22Z prototype high density beam sniper; 'Gleipnir' Anchor;

**Astray Strike Pack:** 'Astray Flight Pack'(looks like the Red Frame's): Type 71 Beam Rifle; Shield, left fore-arm mounted;

**Astray Aegis Pack:** 540mm 'Scylla' cannon shield;

**Astray Dynasty Pack:** 'Exia Kai III' Sword/Rifle, mounted on right forearm, right hand-carried when in use; Missile shield, mounted on left forearm 4 x Missile pods, 5 x 'Hydra' class missiles per pod;

**Optional Armament:** Bazooka; Type 71 Beam Rifle; Shield;  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Drake Connor  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the MBF-P02 Red Frame  
><strong>Colors:<strong> Pretty much take the Red frame, and were its red replace it with silver.  
><strong>Info:<strong> The fifth unit of the Astray Series. This unit was found onboard the Cornelius-class Tender/Salvage ship that would be named '_Saberwing II_' by the Mercenary Group Saber Team. It already had the intended 'Astray' packs that are similar to the Striker packs for the strike.

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-515 'CGUE Jake Ranger Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom Commander-use mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors, range unknown  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> M7070 Shield-plus-28mm Vulcan System

**Optional Fixed Armament:** MA-M4A Heavy Sword, mounted on right hip, hand-carried when in use; NOL-Y941 heavy Laser Sword, mounted on left hip, hand-carried when in use;

**Optional Armament:** MMI-M7S 76mm Heavy Machine Gun  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Jake Ranger  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> A ZGMF-515 CGUE with the YFX-200 CGUE DEEP arm's sword

**Colors:** Blue with white trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> Jake Ranger's Customized CGUE

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-1017M 'GINN High Maneuver Type Calista Shae Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom High Mobility mobile suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Ultracompact energy battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Sensors range unknown  
><strong>Fixed Armament: <strong>Sniper Rifle

**Optional Fixed Armament:**

**Optional Armament:** JDP2-MMX22 experimental 27mm armor assault rifle with Bayonet  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Calista Shae  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> A ZGMF-1017M GINN HM Type

**Colors:** Red with White trim  
><strong>Info:<strong> Calista Shae's Customized GINN

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** TVMF-01 'Specter Jade Hisanaga Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Transformable Stealth Type Mobile Suit  
><strong>Power plant:<strong> Hyper Ultracompact Battery  
><strong>Special Equipment:<strong> Mirage Colloid  
><strong>Armament:<strong> 2x Igelstellung CIWS mounted in head; Beam Saber, mounted in forearm, hand carried in use; 55mm Gunpod, hand carried, mounted on body in fighter mode; 8 x 'Alpha' Multi-purpose Missile launchers, two mounted on shoulders, two mounted on thighs, and two mounted on wings;, 6 x Missile tubes per launcher;  
><strong>Pilot:<strong> Jade Hisanaga  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like the SV-51 from Macross Zero

**Colors: **Black with White trim

**Jade Custom:** Forest Green with Brown trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong>

**Mobile Suit Serial Number:** ZGMF-602F GuAIZ 'Fury Custom'  
><strong>Unit Type:<strong> Custom mobile suit  
><strong>Powerplant:<strong> Ultracompact energy Battery  
><strong>Special Equipment<strong>: Sensors, Range Unknown;  
><strong>Fixed Armament:<strong> 2 x MA-MV03 Composite Shield, mounted on forearms; 2 x MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS, fire-linked on head; 2 x MMI-M20S "Pollus IX" railgun, mounted on hips;  
><strong>Pilot(s):<strong> John Cypher  
><strong>Appearance:<strong> Looks like a ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, only with the GuAIZ R's Rail cannons, and not just one, but two Composite shields with beam claws integrated into them.

**Color:** Crimson red with Yellow Trimming  
><strong>Info:<strong> The Custom mobile suit used by John Cypher.


	12. Chapter 11: The Desert Dawn

Opening Theme: 'Strength' by Abingdon Boys School

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Kw8LGEUYRqU

_Brig_

Yuuka sighed as she looked up at the ceiling of her cell and shifted in irritation '_I'm probably already listed as MIA,_' she mused to herself '_I hope mom and dad are doing alright._' She looked up as she heard loud footsteps approaching and saw Liz stomp into the brig with a rare scowl on her face "You look like someone just ran over your dog," Yuuka commented bluntly "What's wrong?"

Liz sighed as she leaned against the bars to Yuuka's cell "Some girl we met briefly back at Heliopolis during the attack," she explained "We had shoved her into an escape pod before heading to the one across from the Mobile Suit factory where the Gundams were stored, turns out she join the guerilla resistance here, she pretty much was being a bitch to us for piloting the Gundams."

Yuuka grimaced in sympathy "I understand how you feel," she said standing up and moving over to Liz and placed a hand over hers "My own sister was a bitch to me after joining ZAFT, she had a boyfriend that was a part of a protest group, only the group were extremists and her boyfriend wasn't aware of the fact and he ended up getting killed during a military sanctioned raid."

Liz winced "I heard about that one," she admitted before sighing "Normally what she said wouldn't hurt me, but..."

"The wound is still fresh." Yuuka finished with a sympathetic look to which Liz nodded with a sigh.

"Thanks for listening Yuuka." She whispered gratefully.

Yuuka shrugged lightly "Eh, not much else to do," she dismissed before grinning as Liz headed for the exit "Besides, you're too cute to be walking around angry!" She added just as Liz was closing the door making the dirty blond freeze for a moment processing her words before blushing like mad with a small smile on her face.

_Ryu's room_

Jade followed Jordan and Mathew through the hallways of the Archangel as they led her to Ryu and Kira's room "Here it is," Jordan announced stopping at the room "Would you like some time alone?"

Jade smiled a little "Thank you for the offer but that's fine," She assured "I wouldn't mind the help." Taking a breath she entered the room and looked around and let out a small chuckle "Definitely Ryu's room." She commented wistfully "Only he could make military precision look comfortable."

The two brothers' chuckled in agreement as Jade opened the box they packed Ryu's possessions into, on the top where two pictures, the first was of the Falcon squad standing in a hanger in their pilot suits with a mobile suit four Moebius Zeros in the background, the second was a picture of Ryu's family, Ryu stood with his arms around a younger Jade and another male that looked to be his brother while their parents stood behind them.

"It's been so long since that day," Jade said "It was the day before he shipped off for training that we took this, the first, and only, Coordinator in the Hisanaga family, there was a lot of pressure on him to join the military because of this, although, I think there might have been something more to it."

Jordan looked at her in confusion "What do you mean 'Something more'?" He asked curiously.

Jade looked blankly across the room with a slight frown on her face "I had overheard Ryu and dad talking one night," She admitted "Dad was saying something he didn't pay that much money into the project just for Ryu to do something other than become a soldier like he was _meant_ to be, Ryu wasn't particularly happy because he had actually planned on joining either the Junk Guild or Terminal after he completed the military school he was sent to."

Mathew frowned "He was forced into the service than?" He asked with a slight hint of anger.

Jade looked at Mathew with the 'are you kidding' stare "No one could force Ryu into anything," She countered "I think he joined in the end to prevent the pressure falling on me and Jin," She smiled faintly "He would always watch out for the two of us, hell there was one time he snuck out of the Military Academy to beat the shit out of a bully who had been picking on me and Jin at school, I don't think I ever seen anyone more scared in my life then when Ryu popped out of nowhere in his uniform growling at the bully."

The three shared a laugh at the picture she painted "Sounds like an interesting experience to grow up with him as a brother." Jordan said "Although I think I'll stick with you as my brother, Ryu is a bit _too_ crazy in all honesty."

Jade chuckled as she looked around "Who was in the room with him?" She asked noticing the box on the other bed.

"Ah," Jordan replied "That would be his girlfriend Kira Yamato; they only recently hooked up actually."

Jade blinked in surprise before sighing "Let me guess, Mu assigned them these rooms?" She speculated earning chuckles from the brothers "Ryu often told me in letters about his squad, when I heard what happened at Endymion I felt horrible not being able to let him know I was alive."

"How come?" Mathew asked in confusion "I mean if he was still in the military than it wouldn't be _that_ hard to get into contact with him."

"Because of the fact he's a Coordinator and was supportive of sitting down for the peace talks," She replied "If Blue Cosmos caught wind of my survival..."

"They would have used you as a hostage to control Ryu." Jordan finished as realization dawned on him "And when he left the EA he went under the radar."

Jade nodded "Never could be found unless he wanted to be," She confirmed.

Jordan then stepped forward. "I know that losing a sibling is tough," he said. "But just keep on hoping that Ryu might have survived." Jade blinked. "You…lost someone too?" She asked.

"Almost did." Jordan said, gesturing to his Brother. "I knew my Brother lived at Junius 7, but he never told me and my family that he was in the Zaft military now. When the nuke went off…I…I felt terrible. Matthew taught me so many things, he kept me and Amy safe from bullies like Ryu, and he taught me the four reasons a person should fight. Family, Friends, Honor, and life."

Jade smiled. "That sounds a lot like Ryu." She said. "But if Matthew here was in Zaft, how did he join the Archangel?"

Matthew sighed. "I was part of the Le Cruset team during the Attack on Heliopolis." He answered. "While the rest of the team got their mobile suits, Me and my 'Teammate' Kane were ordered to look for any extra or hidden machines. When we entered a hidden hanger…there were two Morgenroete workers inside, trying to protect three of the Gundam's. Kane shot at one of them, killing him…that was when I realize…those two workers were my Parents." Jade gasped.

"I tried to not kill Mom…" Matthew said. "But Kane…he didn't hesitate. He just…killed them. Because he _wanted _too."

"And I saw him do it." Jordan said. "I was with Ryu as he tried to get us all into shelters. I got separated from the others, and I followed my Parents. When…when I saw Kane kill our mom…I heard him say 'Pathetic Natrual's'…and I went ballistic. I shot at him. But Missed, and he was about to kill me…"

"Until I stopped him." Matthew said firmly. "Kane may have killed my Parents…but I'd be damned if he killed my own Brother."

"Those that abandon the mission are Trash." Jade said, shocking the others. "However, those that abandon their friends and Family are worse than Trash." She smiled. "Ryu taught me and Jin that. It was one of his most important lesions." standing up with the box of Ryu's gear "Thanks, I better get ready to transfer back over to the Saberwing, I enjoyed talking with you."

"Thanks for telling us about Ryu;" Mathew said "He never really talked about himself much before he joined the military."

Jade grinned "If you see him, tell him that John wants to talk to him," She said "I want it to be a bit of a surprise when I show up."

_Desert Dawn Base_

"There she is." John said as the Archangel strode into the Desert Dawn Base. It seemed like any ordinary base, however there were things that they took note of that didn't belong. First, was the large ship that was similar to the Archangel, if not more lightly armed. It was Steel Grey with an Ice blue trimming.

Second, there were the numerous mobile suits that were in the base as well! Most of them were different types of GINN's, while there were also a few ZuOOTs and CGUE's as well. Some of them were patrolling the area, while others were just docked in make-shift hangers.

John was specifically pointing at the ship at the moment. "The _Saberwing II._" He said proudly. "It's a Cornelius-class Salvage/Tender ship that we found in the Heliopolis Debris belt with the Silver Frame. There were two of these ships, but we sold the spare since we didn't need two of those things. Since then, we've made quite a few upgrades to the ship. Adding a few new weapons like the 75mm Auto-cannons, and the Anti-air/ship missile tubes. We also made it so that it works in atmosphere a lot better than it did originally."

Mu let out a low whistle. "A fine Ship." He said. "But I can't help but notice all of the Zaft suits all around the place."

"Well, simply put," John answered. "A while ago, just about a week before you came here, my team and the Desert Dawn raided a Zaft Armory where they had a whole bunch of mobile suits stocked. After the battle, we got ourselves 10 ZuOOTs, around 30 or so GINN ORCHER types, a few CGUE's and even two DINN's. Since then, we've been trying to make a Natural-friendly O.S so the Rebels can properly use them. We've made a few breakthroughs, but it's still not perfect."

"Then search no more." Graham said, surprising John. "Thanks to Ryu, we have a fully working Natural O.S that Mu has been using on the Hyperion in the Hanger, and will be using it on the Lightning." John blinked in surprise, and then chuckled. "Looks like I owe that guy another one." He muttered. "Just send it to the Saberwing's bridge crew, and we'll start uploading the O.S's into their suits. With the Mobile suits working at full, this should even the odds considerably."

_Later_

_Hanger_

Mu sighed bitterly as he entered the hanger area and looked up at his new suit, the Lightning, although, with the upgrades he had planned it would be a new suit altogether, hence it was renamed the Lightning Strike.

Armed with the Dragon's Dynasty Heat Shotels, and a Murasame arm unit along with a shield on the opposite arm. It can also use the Striker Packs, and the different weapons from the Striker packs. Like the Agni, the Swartz Grewder, and so on. It could now also use the Beam Shields the Hyperion used, as well as the beam knives, and beam SMG.

The schematics Ryu had left behind had a design plan on a new experimental battery for the Gundams and the Lightning Strike was currently being outfitted with it, it theoretically had over two times the regular output of a normal battery, there was some kind of hidden feature on it that no one could make heads or tails out of, but due to the fact it was a critical piece of the battery they kept it in anyways, once the Lightning Strike was refitted with its new armaments and battery the Raptor was next in line for upgrades followed by the Raven, then the Thunder, the GINN would be last.

Each pilot oversaw the upgrading procedure and took part in it. Moving over to the Hyperion that sat in one of the restraints to prevent it from tumbling about he climbed in the cockpit closing it behind him and flicked the computer on and brought up an old photo that he had transferred from the Moebius Zero, it was a photo of the Falcon Squad shortly before Endymion happened, each member was sitting around a table smiles on their face as they played a game of poker with Yuna having the largest stack and a large smirk on her face.

Mu sighed "I hope you guys are watching over us," he whispered softly closing his eyes as he wiped his face "Because we will need all the help we can get."

'_What the hell are you talking about La Flaga?_' Kyle's voice echoed through his head '_That doesn't sound like a member of a Falcon squad!_'

'_Yeah, where is you never say die attitude?_' Mickey's voice asked ''_To make the impossible possible', that's your, _our,_ motto isn't it?_'

"What do I do though?" He whispered "I feel so lost."

'_Than start walking soldier!_' Yuna's voice ordered '_You'll never find your way out like this!_'

'_One step at a time La Flaga,_' Ryu's voice whispered '_You're on the right path so far, just keep at it._'

'_Just make sure you pick yourself up when you fall though, okay?_' Kira's voice supported '_we're behind you one hundred percent of the way._'

'_And make sure that NO ONE TOUCHES MY STUFF WHILE I'M GONE!_' Ryu's voice said.

Mu smiled lightly as he felt their presences fade from his mind "They're right," he whispered with renewed determination "One step at a time, never surrender, never falter and always get back up, no matter what."

_**Training Room**_

Chris grunted as he furiously punched the punching bag letting out his pent up anger onto the innocent bag, thoughts running through his head '_I know it was impossible for me to save them,_' he told himself '_So why do I blame myself, why do I keep thinking '_If only I was faster, if only I was stronger._' If only, if only, IF ONLY!_' he mentally screamed as he delivered a round house kick to the punching bag actually making some of the bolts holding it to the ground to loosen slightly.

"Chris?" A hesitant voice asked, turning he saw Flay standing there with a concerned look on her face "Is everything alright?"

Chris sighed as he placed his forehead against the punching bag "Not really," he admitted "Just lingering self blame about Kira and Ryu."

Flay frowned in concern "You couldn't do anything about it," she reassured placing a hand on his shoulder "You did everything you could, more than what anyone asked of you."

"But I should have been able to do more!" He shouted in protest "I don't know how but I should have been able to do more!"

Flay sighed and proceeded to shock the Coordinator and everyone else in the room by slapping his harshly across the cheek "Get over yourself," she ordered harshly "You are a Coordinator yes, but you are not Superhuman, you can't save everyone, besides, they did what they _felt_, they _believed_ they needed to do, and this is how you honor their last wishes? By blaming yourself?"

Chris stared at her in surprise and looked down in shame "I, I never thought about that," he admitted softly "I was so wrapped up in trying to figure out what I _could've_ done I forgot about what they _wanted _done."

Flay smiled and hugged the teen "Just relax a bit Chris," she advised "You are plenty skilled, but sometimes, you have to accept the fact that you can't save everyone, no more than can you travel through time. Besides, it's like Jordan said. Maybe, just maybe they could me alive out there."

"Thanks." Chris whispered gratefully as he gently returned the hug before separating with a sigh "I best get back to my duties, see ya around, and thanks again Flay."

Flay merely smiled and nodded at him and watched him leave the room with an odd expression on her face '_What is it I'm feeling around him?_' She asked herself '_Am I falling for him?_' Flay sighed in frustration and headed out to complete her own shift '_Maybe I'll talk to Amy or Liz about this later._'

_Lesseps_

"DaCosta here sir," said DaCosta as he knocked on the door of the commander's room aboard the _Lesseps_. "I am entering, sir." As he said that, the door opened, and stepped through.

To see the legendary Desert Tiger leaned over on his desk, staring intently at a fresh brew of coffee he was mixing. The aroma was thick enough that DaCosta momentarily covered his mouth.

"Commander, what do you say we ventilate this room?" he asked.

"It was that urgent you had to barge in here and tell me," said Andy, acting as though DaCosta's 'suggestion' was why he was there.

"Lo… no sir," said DaCosta. "That's not why I…" DaCosta suppressed a sigh as Waltfield poured the new brew into a mug. "Preparations for sortie completed, sir."

Andrew sniffed the coffee. "Alrighty," he said. "I was really hoping we wouldn't have to resort to these drastic measures. But… guess it can't be helped." Andy took a sip of coffee.

"Mmm…" he murmured "Ah, this is good."

_Meanwhile_

_In the Saberwing II_

Graham and walked into the hanger of the Saberwing, and they were shocked that it was very similar to the hanger of the Archangel, if not exactly the same.

Placed in their respective racks were Calista's GINN, John's GuAIZ, Jack's CGUE, Jordan's 'Silver Frame', and Jade's Specter. There was also a silver Work GINN as well.

"Well, they definitely have the guns to put up a fight." Graham commented, and Hikari nodded.

"SHIT! WATCH OUT!" a woman's voice shouted. Graham's eyes darted up as another Work GINN carrying a large crate with its hands accidentally dropped its load. Reacting quickly, Graham pushed Hikari away, and the crate landed on the ground making an echoing 'BAM' through the hanger.

"Hikari! Are you alright?" Graham asked.

"Y-ya…I guess." Hikari said, blushing. Graham then noticed that in pushing her out of the way, they were now practically nose-to-nose with each other's faces, gaining a blush from both of them. Graham quickly stood up; helping Hikari up as well as the pilot of the GINN disembarked and ran up towards them. "Shit, I am _so _sorry about that!" She said. "My suit's arms have been acting weird all day, and I didn't see you two down here."

"It's alright." Hikari reassured. "No one got hurt, right?"

"Ya, true…" The pilot said. She was 21 and stood at 5'9" with black mid-back length hair and silver eyes, and was definitely athletic. She was wearing an orange mechanic jumpsuit. "By the way, Name's Deborah Marks, but everyone calls me Ratchet. Who are you?"

"I'm Graham Aker, I pilot the Aviator." Graham said.

"I'm Hikari Sierra, pilot of the Phoenix." Hikari said. Ratchet nodded. "So you pilot the brother unit of the Specter?" she asked.

"Ya, I guess." Hikari said as she looked at the Specter. "By the way, why is this suit so similar to the Phoenix anyway?"

"Simple, it was based off of its old schematics we found from an abandoned E.A base Terminal came across." Ratchet answered. "Before the G-Weapons were thought up, the E.A wanted an All-purpose mobile suit. A unit that can operate in land, space, sea, and air. The Phoenix was made for that, but when the G-Project was starting up, the project was pretty much abandoned. However Terminal saw the potential in it, and used captured data from the Phoenix Series, and added some stealth Tech onto it, and gave it a more sleek design. Hence the Specter was born. And it fit's Jade's fighting style perfectly."

Hikari nodded in approval. "Is there any way to give this Stealth Tech to my Phoenix?" she asked.

"Sure!" Ratchet said. "Thought the external design is different, there are not too many differences from the Phoenix and Specter. I'll have Pop's help you out with that."

"Pops?" Graham asked.

"Pop's is the chief mechanic here." Ratchet answered. "In fact, here he comes now." She then gestured to a 52 year old man, with a short black beard, a bald head, and blue eyes. He was wearing a black utility suit. "Ratchet what was that!" he shouted as he approached them. "Didn't I tell you to be careful with those?"

"Sorry, Chief." Ratchet said as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "It was an accident."

Pops sighed. "Well, at least no one got hurt." He said, and then he faced the others. "I don't recall seeing you two before."

"They're from that E.A ship John and the others rescued," Ratchet said. "Their names are Hikari and Graham." Pops nodded. "Well, nice to meet you two." He said. "The name's Peter Beagle. But everyone here calls me Pops."

"Nice to meet you, Pops." Hikari said, while Graham frowned. "Have we met somewhere before?" he asked. "Cause you look awfully familiar."

"I get that a lot." Pops said, shrugging. Though she was still unconvinced, she just let it slide. "Well, since your new here, Might as well give ya the grand tour of the _Saberwing II._"

"What happened to _Saberwing I?_" Hikari asked.

"Damaged beyond Repair." Ratchet answered. "We just salvaged what we could, and strapped it onto the II."

_Medical Room_

"First, we have the Med-lab." Pops said as they entered the Medical room. It was rather empty which was a good sign, with the exception of a young 18 year old girl. Stood about as tall as Hikari was, had crimson red hair with deep violet eyes that reminded her of her sister, only without the red tinting. She was typing away on a Laptop. She looked up from it for a moment, and smiled.

"Ah, hey Pops, Ratchet." The girl said, standing up. "Who are they?"

"They're from that ship that landed here, the Archangel." Ratchet answered. "Doc, meet Graham Aker, and Hikari Sierra. Guys, meet Allana Fortier. Or Doc for short. She's our medical expert."

"It's nice to meet you."Hikari said. Graham nodded.

Doc Smiled. "Nice to meet you too," She said. "But if you excuse me, I got some work to do guys." She sat back down, and started back onto her Computer. The four then left her in peace.

_Later_

_Bridge_

After exploring most of the ship, their tour ended as they reached the bridge "And finally, the bridge." Ratchet said.

"Wow, it's pretty much identical to the Archangel's…" Hikari said, and Graham nodded in agreement.

"So, are they some of the new arrivals?" asked one of the bridge occupants in the Captain's seat. She was about as tall as John was, if not a little shorter, with long, curly brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Yes Ma'am." Ratchet said. "Graham, Hikari, this is our Tactical Forecaster and first Officer Leesa Kujo." Leesa just waved them off as she drank from a flask. "Eh, just Kujo will be fine." She said.

"Ma'am, how many times do I have to repeat myself, we don't drink on the bridge!" Said the 18 year old male manning the CIC. He was slightly scrawny but still had some muscle to him, and rusty red jaw length hair with amber colored eyes.

"We're not in a combat situation, so stow it Brain." Kujo replied.

'Brain' just sighed. "You'd best let them be, Brain." Said a female voice next to him, a 21 year old girl with should light brown hair, and brown eyes, and wearing an orange shirt with dark green cargo shorts, and brown fingerless gloves as she typed away on her terminal. "We remember what happened last-time someone tried to take her alcohol away."

"And you'd best remember, too." Kujo said firmly, causing the two too shiver.

"Those two are Fred 'Brain' Nelson, and Yumi Nakomi. They're our Electronic Warfare and Communications specialists." Ratchet said. "Anyways, also here is our ship pilot/Weapons specialist Fredric Slegier, or Tank as we call him." A 6'7 Giant that had a massive muscular build, blond military style hair and grey eyes, and wearing a Black/White terminal uniform gave them a quick peace sign. "Sup." He said.

"I can only wonder why you're Called Tank." Graham commented causing Tank to laugh like the heavy from TF2. "Ah, I get that a lot." Tank said.

"So, this is your whole team?" Hikari asked. Ratchet nodded. "Yup, that's everyone." She said.

"We use to have more than this," Pops said. "But a lot of our guys went to Terminal when we got onto the Saberwing II. They said they would meet back up with us at Orb."

"Why Orb?" Hikari asked.

"Orb is where one of our 'Safe Havens' is." Pops answered. "In fact, we've done quite a few missions for Orb in the past."

"Orb may not be able to intervene in the War, but we can." Kujo said. "Don't you just love Loop-holes?"

_Meanwhile_

Flay walked down the halls of the Archangel, as she made her way towards Jordan and Amy's Room. The Captain wanted both Matthew and Jordan present when they spoke with the Desert Dawn Leaders and the Saber Team members.

When she approached the room, she was about to knock…but then she heard a pair of loud moaning sounds.

Flay took a step back for a moment, beginning to blush furiously, she then shook her head, and knocked on the door.

She heard a series of curses coming from Jordan and Amy. "Who is it?" Jordan shouted, Flay could hear the anger in his voice.

"Um…Flay." She said a little nervous now. "That Captain wants you and Matthew to participate in the briefing with the Desert Dawn and the Saber Team Merc's."

Flay could hear Jordan growl. "_We'll finish this later._" She could hear him say. About a minute passed, and Jordan then stepped out of the room. "Alright, let's get this over with." He muttered as he started walking down the hall.

Flay took a quick peek into their room, and noticed Amy was in there…half naked in their bed, causing Flay's Blush to return as she started walking down the opposite side of the Hallway.

_Desert Dawn Planning Room_

"This is our frontline base. Our homes are in the towns," said Sahib "At least, if they haven't been burned to the ground. Tatsil, Moula, and even as far as Banadiya. Our group is all volunteers, expect for the Saber Team, who are Mercenaries we found and hired."

"Not really just for Hire," Calista said. "We're just evening the odds, is all."

Sahib nodded, pouring a cup of coffee. "Coffee?"

John took a sip of coffee and immediately spat it out on the ground. "Okay… Who made this swill?" said John in annoyance. "If you can't make a decent cup of coffee, then don't even bother making it."

John immediately poured the pot of coffee on the ground and started making a fresh pot.

Sahib shook his head. "You'll have to forgive Mr. Cypher. He's an excellent strategist. But he has an _eccentric_ love of coffee."

"Hey there's nothing wrong with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning." John said.

"You average a dozen cups a day."

"Okay… There's nothing wrong with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning, afternoon and evening."

"You haven't changed a bit, John." Mu said.

John took a moment, and looked at Jordan and Matthew. "Say, who are you two anyways?" he asked. "You look familiar."

"I'm Jordan Takeo." Jordan answered. "And this is my Brother, Matthew." John then smiled. "Ah, so you're related to Alen Takeo, then?" This drew attention as Matthew and Jordan's eyes went wide. "Y-you knew out Father?" Jordan asked.

"Knew him? Hell, He was my squad lead!" John said. "He was like a Brother to me and the rest of Galm Team."

"Galm Team?" Matthew asked for confirmation. "Our Dad…was the leader…of _THE _Galm Team? The famous Mercenary squad in the world?" John chuckled a bit. "Yup, he was the White Devil after all." He said. "He tough me, Pixy, and P.J everything we know about piloting Mobile suits. For quite a while we stuck together until he got called away to Mendel with his Wife, Gineta. By the way, how is your Mom, anyway?" He instantly regretted asking that seeing the sorrowful expressions on their faces. "She's…dead." Jordan said. "She got killed during the attack on Heliopolis."

John sighed heavily. "I'm…sorry to hear that." He said. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, it's fine." Jordan said. "Besides, both I and my brother cants stand pity." John smiled. "Looks like the apples don't fall far from the tree." He said.

"So what's her name?" said Mu, motioning to the blond girl.

"We call her the Goddess of Victory." Sahib said.

"And I call the Overemotional Goddess," said John.

The blond let out an annoyed growl and threw an empty coffee cup at him. John merely sidestepped it, intent on the coffee.

"See," he said. "Overemotional." Jordan and Matthew both barked a laugh.

The girl scowled and left the room.

"Okay…" said Mu "But that doesn't answer my question. What's her name?"

"Cagalli Yula," said John. Jordan's head snapped up, staring at him.

_Okay… that can't be a coincidence, I'm sure of it._

"While this area may be under the domination of ZAFT, it's not like they have enough forces can control the entire desert," said Sahib. "Yet only three days ago ZAFT conquered the Victoria Base. Since then, they've extended their control over the area."

"Did you say Victoria?" asked Natarle. Jordan's breath hitched. That would leave Panama as the Earth Forces only remaining spaceport, and in turn, put Orb in greater danger.

"Hmm," murmured Sahib. "The African Community of this area has traditionally sided with the PLANTs. The lower region, the South African Union resisted as best they could. But in the end, the Earth Forces still abandoned them anyway." Sahib heaved a slight sigh. "Everyday, the frontlines are being pushed back, farther and farther."

"But that hasn't stopped you guys, now has it?" said Mu.

Sahib took a long hard stare at him. "As we see it, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are no different. They both come to gain control and take away what is ours."

"Something we agree on," said Matthew, drawing a stare from the others. "When you look at the whole, you can never really have a good opinion of any large military organization."

"That's true," said Mu. Murrue gave the smallest nod of agreement, while Natarle remained quiet, unsure whether to add her own agreement or object to Matthew's statement.

"How well does that ship of yours' fare in Earth's atmosphere?" asked John, pouring a cup of coffee. "Anyone else want some coffee?"

Murrue, and Natarle, declined. Mu, Matthew and Jordan took a cup.

"It can't fly at high altitudes," admitted Natarle.

"If it can't fly over a mountain range, then your other option is to try to break through the Gibraltar Base, we have the same problem with the _Saberwing._" said Sahib. Jordan snorted.

"Oh come on!" he said. "There's _got_ to be a better option than going and committing suicide!"

"Well, there _is_ another way," said John, taking a sip of his coffee. "But it's potentially as dangerous as Gibraltar."

"And what would that option be?" asked Murrue.

"You could take the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and then over to the Pacific Ocean," explained Sahib.

"_But_, there's one critical obstacle in your path," said John.

"That would be?" asked Mu. John smirked dangerously.

"The Desert Tiger."

_Meanwhile_

Darknal walked through the base of the Desert Dawn. Though he had seen many images of bases like this in old war books, and such, he never would have thought he'd see the real thing in person.

There seemed to be a few families that also lived in the base, living in make-shift tents, and surrounding camp fires, women holding their children, and such.

He then noticed two of the members of Saber team around one of the Campfires. Jake Ranger and Calista Shae if he remembered. In between them was a 12-13 year old young boy who was resting his head on Calista's lap.

"Is this spot taken?" Darknal asked as he approached the two. They looked up, and shook their heads no. Nodding, Darknal took a seat next to the fire.

"So, you're the pilot of that Custom GINN?" Jake asked, and Darknal nodded. "Ya, I call it the GINN sniper custom…well, for now at least." He said.

"I'll admit, it's a fine machine." Calista said, almost as a whisper not trying to wake up the boy in her lap. "I was thinking of making similar upgrades to my own GINN so it could fly a lot better than it does now."

Darknal nodded. "So, who's the kid?" he asked, gesturing to the child.

"He's an Orphan." Calista answered. "His Parents were killed by Zaft a few weeks ago. We found him, and we've been taking care of him. You could say we've practically adopted him." Jake chuckled a bit. "He's already starting to call me and Calista Mommy and Daddy." He said.

"I see…" Darknal said. "I know how he feels."

"Huh?" Calista asked.

"I know what it's like to lose family." Darknal said. "When I was 12 me and my brother's parents and our little sister were killed in a Blue Cosmos Terrorist attack. The Orb Bombing of the shopping district."

"I'm…sorry to hear that." Calista said. "I wish I could say I knew too, but I really don't remember my family."

"She was an Orphan for most of her life." Jake answered. "She never got to know her real parents."

"The Orphanage was caught in the crossfire in a battle between Zaft and the E.A, and I lived on my own for a while until, well until I met Jake and the rest of Saber team." She smiled as she looked at Jake, who smiled back. "We've been together ever since. I was actually one of their first recruits besides Jake and John."

Darknal smiled a bit, and nodded. "So, what's the Kid's name?" he asked, pointing at the child.

"He said his Name is Soran." Calista answered. "Soran Ibrahim."

Outside Tatsil

"The whole town is asleep sir," said DaCosta.

"There are some who would put them to sleep permanently," said Waltfield. "There are those who like that approach. Not me. We'll give them a warning first then attack fifteen minutes later." He turned to look at DaCosta. "Well, go on. Warn them."

"Sir." said DaCosta, getting into another jeep.

The jeep sped off for the town.

Eighteen Minutes Later

Most of the kids from Heliopolis were all gathered around one of the many campfires in the rebel base, eating and taking amongst themselves.

"Things were certainly taken a strange turn," said Sai. "Who would have thought that we would end up in a rebel camp of all places?"

"It's better than being alone the desert with only ZAFT Forces for company," said Liz.

"True," said Sai. "But it's still pretty strange."

"Well, strange things happen," said Chris.

"Hey, where's Jordan and Amy anyways?" asked Matthew. "John said they were out here with the rest of you."

Liz shrugged. "Amy said there was something she needed to do a little while ago. Who knows?"

However, Hikari noticed Flay blushed a bit. "Flay, you alright?"

"I…think I know where they are…" she said, blushing as she spoke.

"Flay, what are you talking about?" Hikari asked.

"Well…when-"

"The sky! It's burning!" someone shouted suddenly, interrupting Flay and drawing everyone's attention.

"It's coming from Tatsil!" shouted another guerilla. Standing up, the kids saw that the sky was, indeed, lit up brightly in one direction, and sudden fear gripped all of them—none more so than Flay, who easily the most fragile amongst them.

Ending Theme: 'Unlimited Sky' by Tommy Heaveny6

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=QhDlnWE9qCQ

**Ship Name: **_Saber Wing II_**  
>Unit Type: <strong>Cornelius-Class Salvage/Tender ship**  
>Special Equipment: <strong>Manipulator arms**  
>Armament: <strong>2 x 'Lohengrin' Positron Blaster Cannons; 2 x 'Valiant Mk.8' 110mm Linear Cannons; 6 x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-barrel CIWS; 2 x 6-tubed anti-air/ship missile launcher**  
>Crew: <strong>

John Cypher (M.S Pilot, Captain)

Drake Connor (M.S Pilot)

Peter N. Beagle (Chief Mechanic/Engineer, M.S Pilot)

Jake Ranger (M.S Pilot, Second in Command)

Calista Shae (M.S Pilot)

Jade Hisanaga (M.S Pilot)

Yumi Nakomi (Communications)

Fredric 'Tank' Siegler (Weapons Operator/Pilot)

Fred 'Brain' Nelson (Electronic Warfare Specialist)

Leesa Kujo (Tactical Forecaster)

Allana 'Doc' Fortier (Medical Officer)

Deborah 'Ratchet' Marks (Engineer, MS Pilot)

**Mobile Weapons:**

1 x MBF-P04 Astray Silver Frame

1 x ZGMF-1017 'Works GINN Pops Custom'

1 x ZGMF-1017 'Works GINN Ratchet Custom'

1 x ZGMF-515 'CGUE Jake Ranger Custom'

1 x ZGMF-600 'GuAIZ John Cypher Custom'

1 x ZGMF-1017M 'GINN High Maneuver Type Calista Shae Custom'

1 x TVMF-01 'Specter Jade Hisanaga Custom'

3 x Mistrials**  
>Color: <strong>Tan brown with orange trimming**  
>Info: <strong>After the near destruction of the first Saberwing, in the Heliopolis debris belt they found two Cornelius-class tender ships. Since they only needed one of them, they kept one and renamed it 'the Saberwing II' while they sold the second one. Later that one would soon become the _ReHOME_


	13. Chapter 12: Payback

Opening Theme: 'Strength' by Abingdon Boys School

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Kw8LGEUYRqU

_Gamow, Bridge_

"You're to be transferred to the ground and assist Commander Waltfield with his operation to destroy the Archangel." Victor ordered to a group consisting of Lev, Yzak, Dearka, Johann, Nena, Jacques, Naleen and Mark "Nicol you're returning back to the PLANTs on leave with Athrun and Rau, once my suit is repaired I'll be rejoining you all back on the ground. Also the Mercenary Gary will be joining you when you reach the surface."

The red coats saluted before leaving the bridge "I hate that guy," Naleen declared once they were out of earshot "Didn't even approve of a Search and Rescue for Yuuka."

Mark sighed "Still orders are orders," he said "But at least we'll be working with a _reasonable_ commander this time."

"You mean Waltfield right?" Yzak asked "He and Commander Crueset were the ones to defeat the Dragon right?"

Mark nodded "Yeah, not only that he's one of the few honorable Commanders I've met." He explained "He tries to not cause civilian or non-combatant deaths."

"He's also obsessed with coffee." Jacques added quietly "He makes it pretty well too; he often sends me a bag of his coffee."

The younger red coats blinked and looked at the silent pilot who ignored them while Mark smirked and Naleen giggled.

"I hope I get a chance to fight that GINN pilot again…" Nena said quietly.

"Oh, is Nena developing a Crush on the E.A pilot?" Johann teased, causing Nena to blush. "N-no!" she stuttered. "I Don't!"

"That Blush says otherwise!" Naleen added, causing most of the other pilots to snicker at Nena's increasingly red face.

Outside Tatsil

"Is it over with? Were there any casualties?" asked Waltfield as DaCosta returned to his jeep.

"Why would there be? It's not like we were actually fighting anyone," said DaCosta.

"I meant on both sides."

"Well, there may have been the odd person who took a tumble or were signed by the heat, but that's about it," said DaCosta.

"Then let's get out of here. The men will be returning soon."

"Wasn't the whole point of this to ambush them as they return?"

"What, are you kidding? That's not exactly fair, now is it?" said Waltfield. "We didn't burn down their homes just to ambush them."

"But still—"

"Our objective has been achieved. We'll be returning now."

**A Short While Later**

As the jeeps of the resistance drove for the burning ruins of Tatsil, a GuAIZ Fury Custom, a GINN HM type, and The Silver Frame armed with the Astray Buster pack and Riding on a Guul came up behind them. Meanwhile, the Specter, Hero, Thunder, and a Skygrasper flew over them.

"Whoa… this is bad," said Mu. "Total destruction."

As Jade flew over the destroyed city, she couldn't help it as memories of Oratorio flashed through her head. '_Not again…_' she thought. '_Please…please not again._'

"_Jade, you alright?_" Drake's voice came through on the Radio. "_You look a little pale._"

"I-I'm fine, Drake." Jade said. "I'm just…"

"_I know, Jade._" Drake said. "_If we're lucky, not many got killed this time._"

"Ya…" Jade said, trailing off. The two didn't know that Jordan was listening in on their little talk. '_Hmm, those two remind me a lot like me and Amy…_' he then smirked. '_I wonder…_'

"_Huh? Guy's, do you see that?_" said Amy, banking the Thunder to come over a large group of survivors.

"_Yeah,_" said Jordan as he, Jade and Mu flew their machines over the survivors as well.

"La Flaga here," said Mu, transmitting back to the _Archangel_. "There are survivors from the town. Or more precisely, a large number of people seem to be fine. I don't understand how or why."

"_And the enemy?_" asked Murrue.

"_No sign of them anywhere,_" said Amy.

"_Well don't let your guard down,_" said Jordan.

Below, the resistance fighters' jeeps stopped near the survivors, the two groups greeting each other with relief. Taking the lead, Mu landed the Skygrasper, while Jordan, Amy and Jade shifted their machines to mobile suit mode and landed as well.

"Commander!" exclaimed Natarle as her own jeep stopped next to Mu's fighter as he climbed out of it. "What's going on?"

"Anyone who can move, give us a hand!" shouted Sahib. "Gather up the injured and bring them to this area!"

"Sahib!" Came an elderly call. Sahib gasped slightly when he saw a slouched over figure holding a cane, being held up by a young boy.

"Yaru! Chief, you're alright!" cried Cagalli as she caught sight of the two and ran up to them.

"Father! Cagalli!" said Yaru happily.

"Yaru, I'm glad that you are okay," said Sahib. "Where are your mother and Enna?"

"Old man Shanzidan tripped and fell down while we were escaping, so they're looking after him," said Yaru. Sahib smiled slightly.

"Is that so?" he said, leaning forward and ruffling his son's hair slightly before turning his attention to the chief. "How many of our people were killed?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Not one life has been sacrificed," said the chief, drawing gasps of surprise from Sahib and Cagalli. "They issued a warning to us ahead of time. They said they were setting fire to the town and told us to run away."

"But… how can this be?" muttered Sahib.

Jade let out a massive sigh of relief. '_They're safe._' She thought. '_It's not like before…their safe._'

John smiled a bit. He knew Waltfield personally; this was how he did things.

Jordan and Amy were relieved. It would certainly have been simpler for the ZAFT forces to just burn the entire town to the ground, but hadn't. They'd issued a warning, saving who knew how many lives. Their commander, clearly, was a decent person.

"And then they set everything ablaze," continued the chief. "Food, ammunition, fuels… everything. Granted, we suffered no casualties. But what happens now? How are we expected to live?"

Many of the townsfolk and guerillas scowled angrily, and Sahib's hand curled into a fist.

"That dirty mangy dog," he said. "What must be going through that maniac's head?"

"Survival is possible y'know, as long you're alive," said Mu.

"What?" gasped Sahib, looking back the mobile armor ace with Cagalli.

"It appears that the Tiger has no intention of engaging in a serious battle with you," said Mu.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sahib.

"This is likely payback for what you did to their forces last night," explained Mu. "I have to say, it's pretty generous of the Tiger to let you off with something as relatively minor as this."

"You're kidding me!" exclaimed Cagalli, rushing into Mu's face. "You call this minor? Having a town burnt to the ground is nothing to you? How can you even think of someone who'd do this as generous?"

Jordan, as much as he wanted to, decided not to get involved. Cagalli was just too stubborn and difficult to be reasoned with in a way that was befitting of allies.

"You're all idiots!" Surprisingly, Jade shouted. "You all don't know how lucky you are! That-" she pointed at the burned down town. "Was Merciful compared to what Victor Amsel did to my home at Ontario! When he attacked, he never issued a warning; instead he used heavy weapons and _slaughtered _everyone there because he _wanted _too! The city was blown to ashes, and only a _handful _of people survived!" she then gave a glare that caused several of the people, even Cagalli to flinch. "And here you are saying _Waltfield _is a monster. When there are people that would do _far worse _than this." With that, she stormed off, with Drake following.

"She's right," said Mu. "I meant no offense, and I apologize if I upset you in any way, however, Jade's right. I'm sure even you can concede that if they were serious, it would've turned out much worse."

"That guy's nothing but a lousy, stinking coward," said Cagalli. "He burns down this town while were not even here and thinks of it as a victory? Every time we go into battle, we manage to fight with courage! We even destroyed their BuCUEs in that last operation! That's why that jerk commander can only get us back with a cowardly response like this, to hell with the Desert Tiger!"

"No. You're mistaken. He doesn't call this a victory. He calls this a merciful punishment," said John. "And what do you truly know of war and honor? Did you really expect him to sit back while his men are killed? No. Honor demands that he avenge them. And he did so, honorably and mercifully. Tell me Cagalli, what would you do if you were him?"

"I…"

"A group of rebels just ambushed and killed several soldiers under your command. You now have to write to their families that their loved ones are dead. And you don't know where the central base of these rebels is located, meaning you can't attack them directly. So what would you do?"

"What Waltfield did was the most honorable thing he could have done," continued John. "He attacked a town supporting the rebels but warned the population beforehand, so they could escape. He could have easily wiped out this town and any other town that he believed was aiding us with ease."

"The Tiger's still a coward!" shouted Cagalli, glaring at him.

Desert Dawn fighters and many of the people of Tatsil shouted their own agreements while glaring at the mercenary, though Sahib and Kisaka were the most notable to remain silent. John shook his head. "Fools." He muttered to himself.

_Archangel_ Bridge

"_You know, I'm really starting to like this John Cypher character,_" said Matthew. Natarle had had Jordan start recording and transmitting what was going on back to the _Archangel_, so the crew wouldn't be in the dark to what was going on.

Murrue nodded in agreement.

"He's intelligent and experienced," she said. "And he understands the enemy."

"_And a lot of other people I think,_" added Chris. "_Ah, geez, things don't look good over there._"

"_What'd you expect?_" asked Jordan on the Comm. "_Anyways, captain, think we can hire the Saber Team when all this is over? I imagine they'd be a tremendous help._"

"We'll see," said Murrue.

_With Jade _

As Jade made her way towards the Specter, she just couldn't help but continue thinking about how arrogant the rebels were. When she reached the Specter, she punched it's hull once. "Damn it…" she muttered. "Idiots…their idiots…"

"They don't know what it's like, Jade." Jade turned around to see Drake approaching her. "They…they don't know what it's like to loose the people they…care about. They haven't seen how bad this war really is."

"But still!" Jade shouted. "Why can't they realize that as long as their alive, they can survive?"

"They just don't understand, Jade." Drake said, sighing. "This is why I hate groups like the Desert Dawn…too focus on their emotions, and not thinking logically. They can't see the big picture here."

Jade sighed. "That's…not the problem." She said. "It's that…they…Why…"

"Why do they get saved, and not you and your family?" Drake asked, and Jade nodded, a few tears forming in her eyes.

"Just…It doesn't seem fair…" she whispered.

"Life isn't always fair, Jade." Drake said, as he walked up towards her. "You, me and most of the other's know that life isn't perfect. But we just gotta keep moving forward, and hopefully, the others can talk some sense into them." Jade smiled a bit, and nodded. "Alright, anyways, we should get ready." Drake said, making his way towards the Silver Frame. "I have a hunch that John's gonna need us in a few." Nodding, Jade climbed up into the Specter as Drake headed towards the Silver Frame.

"You seem too be attracted to Ryu's sister." Drake twirled around and noticed Jordan standing there, grinning.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Drake said, blushing a bit.

"Don't play dumb, Drake." Jordan said sternly. "You have that same look in your eyes that I had whenever I thought about Amy. You more than just like her, you love her, don't you?"

Drake sighed. "Fine…alright, I do…more than Like Jade." He said. "But…I don't think she likes me that same way."

"Then find out." Jordan said, walking forward. "Drake, I was in the same boots as you were a while ago. I had a Crush on Amy for well over a few years, but I could never summon up enough courage to tell her." He then smiled. "But a few weeks ago…I finally told her, and she said she felt the same." He then looked right into Drake's eyes. "Your situation with Jade is just like mine was with Amy." He said. "You gotta tell her."

Drake sighed. "It's…more complicated than that." He said, and Jordan raised an eyebrow. "When…when her Brother Ryu went MIA, I…I made a promise to her that I would find him for her even if it was the last thing I did."

"Let me guess…" Jordan said. "You plan on telling her how you feel after you found him?" Drake looked down to the ground, and nodded. "Ya…At first, I was pretty young back then, and just made it so that it would just make her feel better but now…with Ryu missing again…I…"

"You wanna uphold to that promise now more than ever?" Jordan asked, and again Drake nodded. "Drake…I'll leave you with something my own brother told me." He said as he started to walk away. "Tell her how you feel before it's too late…before you may never be able to tell her how you feel." Drake blinked in surprise, but before he could say anything, Jordan was gone.

Ruins of Tatsil

"Sahib," called one of the guerillas.

"What is it?" asked Sahib.

"Over this way," said the guerilla, leading Sahib away.

"What is it? What's going on?" asked Sahib again when he reached the jeeps where some others were apparently waiting for him.

"It hasn't been that long since they withdrew from the area," said a guerilla sitting on the jeep. "We could still catch up to them!"

"What?" said Sahib incredulously.

"They'll be low on ammunition!" said a guerilla. "So now would be the perfect opportunity to attack them!"

"We will strike back at ZAFT," said a masked guerilla. "We can't just sit around here if we're being treated like this."

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Sahib. "If you're wondering what to do with your time, take care of the injured! Stay here and protect your wives and children. That is most important of all!"

"And how is that supposed to help our cause?" asked a third guerilla. "Look!" he said, pointing angrily over Sahib's shoulder at Tatsil. "The Tatsil we once knew is gone! Our homes, food, everything has been burnt to the ground! Are we supposed to sit back and weep with our wives and little ones?"

"You can't be saying that we should reconcile ourselves to being the Tiger's lapdogs," said the masked guerilla. "Is that the case?"

"Please, listen to reason!" said John, rushing over to them. "No one died today, but if you go after the Tiger with just those weapons and no planning, then you wives and children will be burying you!"

"Coward!" shouted one of the guerillas.

"It's not cowardice to avoid blindly chasing after an enemy with a superior force," said John, reigning in his frustration. It may not have been his job to point out their inherent stupidity, but he wasn't going to sit back while these people tried to convince everyone to rush off and get themselves killed.

"Shut up, you damned Merc! What would you know?"

Sahib was quiet, trying to restrain his anger over the stupidity and blind anger his men were showing.

"Time to go!" called one of the guerillas as the first of the jeeps drove away in pursuit of the ZAFT forces before anyone could get another word in. Several more followed them.

"Ah great," said John. Sahib growled.

"Pedoru!" he shouted to one of men sitting in one of the few remaining jeeps.

"Are you planning to go with them, Sahib?" asked Cagalli.

"They can't go alone," said Sahib grimly as Pedoru pulled up his jeep and Sahib climbed in.

"Huh? Sahib, wait, I'm coming with you!" said Cagalli, running up and trying to climb in the jeep, only to be knocked back by Sahib.

"Not now, you stay behind!" said Sahib

"Alright, once I get back to my Fury, I'll join you," said John.

"No. You stay as well," said Sahib. "If I don't come back, take command of the Desert Dawn."

"What? I'm a mercenary, not a rebel leader!" said John.

"You're the only other person with the skill and cool head to lead the Desert Dawn if something happens to me."

John sighed. "Fine. Just do us both a favor and don't get killed. You still have to pay me."

"Sahib!" called Cagalli as his jeep drove off in pursuit of the others. Suddenly, another jeep pulled up in front of her.

"Climb aboard!" said Ahmed, the jeep's driver. Kisaka stood in the back of the vehicle. Cagalli nodded, and climbed into the passenger seat before the jeep drove off.

"I have to say, this is a land where both the wind and the people get very heated," commented Mu, walking up to John with Natarle and Amy, Jordan, Jade and Drake as the jeeps drove off.

"They're going to be wiped out," said Natarle. "With they're mediocre equipment; they don't stand a chance against the BuCUEs."

"If they had those ORCHER's, they could stand a chance." Jordan said. "But those are still back at the base."

"It's always been the most passionate that are the most heroic. And the most foolish," said John. "The question is, what are you going to do?"

"Don't you mean we?" asked Amy.

"No. I know what I'm doing, Jade and Drake are coming with Me." said John as they turned and started walking to their suits. "I suggest that you guys do the same. The _Archangel_ is safe where it is, but if Sahib dies, you may not be escaping the desert at all."

_Archangel_ Hangar

"_What did you just say?_" asked Murrue. In the Warrior, Matthew was just as shocked. The last of the events hadn't been recorded for them. "_They went after the enemy? But don't they realize how crazy that is? Why didn't you try to stop them, commander?_"

"_Like I could,_" said Mu. "_They were so determined that if I'd tried, they'd attack us. John, Jade and Drake went after them, and suggested we do the same. More importantly… there are many injured here who need treatment. And there's the problem of food, especially water. What'll we do?_"

"_It's clear there isn't a second attack force,_" said Murrue. "_I'll have Matthew and Liz check up on them, and tell the others to do the same. We can't sit back and let them get killed. I'll have our remaining vehicles deliver water and medical supplies._"

"_Hold on_," said Jordan, quickly thinking everything over. _"All of us would be WAY overkill, especially with half of Saber Team going after them. Plus, that's the sort of force you use for a counterstrike, not a rescue operation. We need to make it clear to them that we aren't supporting their attempt at payback."_

"_So what do you propose then?_" asked Natarle.

"_Simple,_" said Jordan. "_I'll head over there with Chris, Darknal and Liz. This gives us a significant force, given the numbers you'd likely be facing, and makes it clear that we're only there to bail them out. If we send our full force, it's practically screaming that we agree with them, even if we only stick around to deal with the BuCUEs._"

"_Politics?_" asked Chris from the Raven. Jordan nodded.

"_Exactly,_" he said. "_My aunt, who I was living with before going to Heliopolis, is a politician, and she sort of hammered it into me, so I have at least some understanding. We have to send the message with actions as well as words: we're allies, but we're not their soldiers. We've joined forces only because we have a common enemy, and not because we're driven by the sort of apparently idiotic passion they fight with._"

"_Makes sense,_" said Mu. "_Everyone agreed then?_"

"_Yes,_" said Murrue. "_Jordan's right. Crewman Haw, prep the Raptor for launch._"

"_Roger that,_" came Mir's voice.

"Let's go ahead and launch the Warrior and the others too," said Jordan. "Graham, Hikari, Matthew and Amy will help Mu with delivering supplies."

Elsewhere

"Can't we go a little faster than this?" asked DaCosta as the strike force proceeded steadily through the desert.

"You're eager to get back, huh?" asked Andy.

"At the speed we're going, they'll catch up to us!" said DaCosta.

"Then we're meant to meet, its fate," said Andy. "They're artillery trucks are no match against our BuCUEs." He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against his hands. "Whenever people are put to the test, I often hear them boast "I'd rather die". But do you think they honestly mean it?"

"_Commander?_" Came the voice of the lead BuCUE pilot over the radio. "_There are vehicles approaching us from behind. Six… no eight vehicles. They appear to be those of the resistance fighters._"

"Huh?" said DaCosta.

"Maybe those people would rather die after all," commented Andy.

**Begin Playing: 'We Rise' from the Command and Conquer 4 OST**

**Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=bNXJskykUQ8**

Behind them, jeeps flew over the dunes and a familiar blonde resistance fighter launch an RPG at the jeep that DaCosta heard coming and evaded.

"What now commander?" asked DaCosta.

"We have no choice, we're fighting back," said Andy calmly as DaCosta wheeled the jeep away.

"Go after the jeep," said a resistance fighter. "This time, we're hunting the Tiger!" With that, he launched another RPG towards the jeep, but one of the BuCUEs moved in the way, the projectile exploding harmlessly against the mobile suit's armor before it lifted one of its legs and attempted to crush the jeeps. The drivers pulled away in time, and Cagalli fired a grenade at the BuCUEs head, the explosion blinding the pilot, while Kisaka blasted another grenade at an exposed joint at the ankle, causing the BuCUE to collapse to the ground.

"Yeah!" said Ahmed.

"We did it!" cried Cagalli excitedly.

A missile truck fired at a BuCUE, but it jumped into the air, directly above the truck, and converted its legs to their high-speed caterpillar track mode. The BuCUE landed on the offending vehicle, crushing it entirely, and turned its attention to the remainder, chasing them.

The jeeps couldn't keep up with the BuCUE, and the two vehicles were crushed as well.

As the BuCUE converted back to its standard combat walking mode, Ahmed pulled his jeep underneath it, allowing Cagalli and Kisaka to fire grenades into its belly. Unfortunately, while the pilot was slightly shaken, the explosives inflicted no real damage to the BuCUE.

The BuCUE slowed down, getting behind the jeep, and lifted its leg.

"Jump off!" shouted Kisaka.

"Huh?" said Ahmed. Kisaka grabbed Cagalli and leapt from the jeep an instant before the BuCUE crashed its foot into the vehicle, sending the car and Ahmed flying.

"Ahmed!" cried Cagalli as the BuCUE set its foot back on the ground right next to the blonde and Kisaka. Seconds later, however, an RPG hit the BuCUE's shoulder.

Sahib shouted a battlecry of anger as he shouldered two more RPG launchers and fired, both grenades hitting the BuCUE directly, and drawing its attention away from Cagalli and Kisaka. As the BuCUE attempted to charge them, Sahib's jeep evaded it for a moment.

Sahib glanced at the downed BuCUE and a third BuCUE which had largely ignored them up to this point, and thought back for an instant to the earlier complaints of his forces—forces now lying dead for meaningless, failed vengeance.

"Sahib!" called the driver, breaking the guerilla leader from his brief reverie as the combating BuCUE moved behind the jeep. Sahib shouldered his rocket launcher.

"Damn you!" he shouted.

At that instant, a shot rang out, and a seventy-six millimeter anti-armor round pierced the head of the BuCUE.

"Boom! Headshot!" Calista cheered as she fired another two rounds into the BuCUE's missiles launcher, destroying it. "Why don't you try someone who can actually fight back!" Then the GuAIZ-F came up from behind it, followed by the Specter.

In the distance, the Silver Frame stood with his 350mm Gun Launcher, and 94mm Energy Rifle in Long-range cannon mode. He fired off a shot; which didn't hit any of the BuCUE's directly, but caused some splash damage from the shockwave knocking a few off balance. "Try to pick on someone your own size!" Drake shouted as he prepared for another shot.

Watching from his jeep, Waltfield smirked.

"Perfect," he said.

Alarms went off in the GINN's cockpit as the BuCUEs charged at it. Calista's eyes widened, and he spun around, an act which likely saved her life, as a barrage of missiles missed her machine, instead taking out only her sniper rifle.

"_Guy's, we've got incoming contacts!_" Drake said on the Comm. "_I'm picking up additional enemy forces. Four GeGET's with Rot squadron colors, and a team of Helicopters._"

"Attack helicopters?" question Calista. "Have they been hiding around here the whole time?"

"_Looks like Andy has been expecting us._" John said as he flew up to engage the GeGET's. "_Jade, you're with me. We'll handle the Rot Team. Drake, cover Calista._"

"_Understood sir-AH SHIT!_"

"_Drake, what is it? What's happening?_" Jade asked, worried.

"_Bastards snuck up on me!_" Jordan shouted. "_I've got a CGUE DEEP arm over here!_"

"_Dammit…_" John muttered. "_We should have brought Jake too."_

Another alarm in the GINN's cockpit had Calista turning, pulling one of her machine's swords free and lashing out, driving the BuCUEs back. The choppers fired again, and the GINN dived out of the way, springing an assault knife from its shoulder. Calista grabbed the knife and tossed it at the lead helicopter, destroying it.

Meanwhile, John and Jade accelerated towards the four GeGET's. they split up with Jade taking on two, and John taking on two of his own.

The GeGET's fired their 110mm's at John's GuAIZ, however he deflected them off of his shield. He fired a blast from his Rail cannons to force them back, but they evaded. Meanwhile Jade fought her own two GeGET's in MIX mode while flying just above the sand firing up at them, using the Dunes as cover.

Jade fired off a few Alpha missiles at them; however the GeGET's used their machine cannons and shot them out of the Skies.

Meanwhile, Drake had put away his Long Range rifle, and was now squaring off with a CGUE DEEP arms with a beam saber in his right hand, and his Combine shield in the other.

The CGUE charged forward with its Laser sword. Drake reacted quickly and caught the attack with his Beam Saber. He snapped up his 30mm Gatling on his shield, and fired off a few rounds. But the CGUE side-stepped to the right and fired off it's own shoulder-mounted beam cannon, that nearly missed his suit's head. "He's good; I'll give him that…" Drake muttered.

In Waltfield's jeep, DaCosta saw something on the radar.

"Heat sources approaching from above," said DaCosta. "Commander, it's coming from…"

An instant later, a green dart of energy cut across the sky, hitting the desert sand near the BuCUEs closing in on them, drawing looks of shock from Sahib, Kisaka, and all the present pilots, who looked up to see the Hero, GINN Sniper, Raven and Raptor on approach. The GINN riding on the Raven's back.

"_You missed Darknal?_" questioned Jordan in surprise.

"The heat convection must be causing it," Darknal said, "So shut up."

"Excuses, Excuses." Chris said, chuckling.

Darknal, with the help of the A.I, quickly inputted corrections to the OS. He fired again, this time blowing off the missile pod of one of the BuCUEs, while Chris let loose on the remaining choppers, destroying them.

"Are you okay, guys?" asked Jordan, landing next to the two Mobile suits, while the Raven and Raptor landed next to Jordan with the GINN hoping off the Raven.

"_I'm fine,_" Said Calista.

"Just P.G" said John. "_Glad you boys could join the party. Where are the others?_"

A barrage of missiles streaking towards the group interrupted Jordan's reply, the mobile suits scattering in all directions. The BuCUE earlier beheaded by Calista leaped at her, the pilot intend on finishing things.

"No you don't!" Jordan said, firing his Dagger/Pistol's three times in rapid succession, the three beam blasts tore through the armor like tissue paper.

The four-legged machine exploded as me, Calista fell back slightly, moving to defend the surviving guerillas and the others moved forward towards the enemy. Chris and Liz moving to help John and Jade, while Darknal and Jordan moved in with Calista to aid them.

Meanwhile, the BuCUE earlier disabled by Kisaka's attack on its joints finally regained the use of its foreleg. However, before the pilot could move to aid his surviving comrades against the Strike, the radio crackled.

"Kirkwood, let me get in and pilot that BuCUE," said Waltfield.

"Commander?" asked DaCosta.

"Some things you can't be sure of until exchanging fire with one another," said Waltfield.

The BuCUEs let loose with one barrage of missiles after another, the GINN, Hero, GINN-HM evading or shooting them down. Darknal and Jordan fired back, but the BuCUEs were too fast, and dodged their shots with little apparent effort.

"Damn!" said Darknal. "These BuCUEs are just too fast! I can't get a good lock on them!"

"Have you ever tried leading your shots?" Calista asked. "As a matter of fact, YES!" Darknal replied. "But it's kinda hard to hit your enemy that way if the area ahead of them blocks my shots!"

Suddenly, another barrage of missiles came in from behind, gunning for Darknal GINN's. Seeing this, Jordan reacted purely on instinct, and shouldered Darknal's Mobile suit out of the way, taking the missiles with the Hero's PS armor.

"_What was that?_" Jordan asked, moving the shaken Hero back to its feet. He then looked to where the barrage came from, and four Black/White striped CGUE's on Guul's lead by a Black/White striped GuAIZ Fury were heading our way.

_**Silber Team**_

Dietrich Killerman Flew in lead of the formation of four Custom CGUE's and his own Fury GuAIZ. "This is Silber lead to Tiger, do you read me tiger?" He said. There was laughter on the COMM. "_I knew I recognized those Suits!_" Andy's voice came in. "_Boss, how you doing?_" Dietrich chuckled. "Just another patrol in the desert and faith seems to have me saving your ass_._" Andy chuckled. "_Apparently._" He said. "_But those are not normal enemy suits, as you see. We're dealing with not just the Merc's of Saber Team, but also the Marksman of Heliopolis, the Midnight Raven, Rising Raptor, and the Golden Hero._" Dietrich raised his eyebrow. "The Hero, eh?" he said. "So are the rumors true?"

"_Half true_." Andy said. "_That's not Alen who's Piloting the Hero, it's his Son._" Now Dietrich chuckled. "Well then." He said. "Let's see how good he really is. Silber team, move in!"

_Jordan_

Jordan then got a good look at the five incoming suits. _Silber team. _He thought. _Commanded by the White tiger of Endymion Dietrich Killerman. _

"Guy's, I'll handle the new ones." Jordan said. "You guys take care of the BuCUE's."

"_You sure about that kid?_" John said. "_I know who's-_"

"_I do as well_" Jordan said. "_But you guys need to take care of the BuCUE's. I've handled Aggressor squadrons before._" There was a pause. "_Give e'm hell kid!_" John said.

_Silber_

_What this? _Dietrich saw as the Hero readied its Exia Kai III's. _Is he trying to hold us off on his own? _He smiled. "He's brave, I'll give him that." He said. "Rupert, Stefan, flank him left. Sebastian, Sven, flank him right. I'll take him down the middle." Quick responses of "Yessir" came to his ears as the Zaft Suit's descended to the Hero.

_Hero_

The shots from the White Tiger were incredibly precise, hitting the most lightly armored sections of the Hero.

Jordan's attempts to return fire consistently failed as he grit his teeth. The White Tiger's GuAIZ was no different from any other, but the man's handling of it was superb. Jordan closed in, evading fire from the shield Vulcan's mounted on the CGUE. Jordan stabbed forward, but the Tiger intercepted with his shield, deflecting the blade upward.

Undeterred, Jordan turned the Hero's head to face the GuAIZ's waste, and fired the Igelstellungs, piercing the left RAIL cannon with a half-dozen rounds. Jordan immediately activated his Verniers, pulling the Hero back. The Tiger disconnected his weapon and jumped back as well, as the Rail gun and its ammo exploded between them. _He's good. _Jordan thought. _A lot better than most of the other Aggressor squadrons from space._

As undeterred by the destruction of his weapon as He was by the failure of his Sword attack, Dietrich simply activated his Beam Claws and activated his Verniers, pushing himself towards the Hero at full speed. He stabbed forward, but the Sabers was intercepted by the Hero's left Exia, and I in turn slashed down with his right sword.

He intercepted with his shield, and for a moment, their machines seemed to be at a standstill.

_Silber_

_Not bad. _Dietrich thought. _Alen's son is good. Maybe even better than Alen himself. _He smiled. _Let's see if you can keep it up._

_Katana_

Jordan panted heavily as he fought the White tiger. '_He's really good'. _He thought. '_He's really making me push it'. _That's when he started getting a strange feeling. It wasn't that vision he experienced twice now, it was like a focus, like his mind was trying to get him to focus entirely on the GuAIZ and his team. _Battle Lust. _Jordan thought. He looked back at the others, they were fairing well against the BuCUE's, and didn't seem to need his help. _Alright then. _Jordan thought. _No more messing around! _And he let battle lust take over.

**Begin Playing: 'Zips' by T.M Revolution**

**Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=QM1hCou3vCU**

Then, He punched up his Verniers, and used the superior strength of the Hero to push the GuAIZ back. Dietrich grimaced slightly at the fact that the task was made easier by the soft sand of the battlefield.

Jordan then jumped, Drew out, and Took careful aim with his Exia Kai's in Rifle mode, He shot off two rounds in rapid succession, but his maneuvers caused his to miss the evading GuAIZ's.

Jordan then began firing the rifle somewhat wildly, and one shot actually ended up piercing one of the CGUE's supporting the Tiger, the pilot blinded for an instant by the sand kicked up from the erratic shots.

As the machine exploded, Jordan turned his attention back to the White Tiger.

Setting his Exia Kai's aside, He drew the two Katana swords from his hips, and connected them into a duel-bladed sword.

Jordan wasn't surprised when the Tiger holstered his RAIL cannon and assumed a similar stance with his beam Sabers.

_Silber_

Dietrich smirked when the Hero drew its swords. '_As I thought'. _He thought as he drew his own Sabers. '_My time is over. A new generation has inherited the skies. He's still not perfect, but he's come to fully understand the true rule's of Combat'. _He then punched his GuAIZ's thrust forward to the Hero.

_Katana_

As the GuAIZ charged forward, Jordan returned the favor and charged right back into him. Time seemed to slow down a bit as we charged. As we neared each other, his Claw's rose to slash down on the Hero, as Jordan's own katana blade neared his cockpit. In the last few moments before the Katana hit the cockpit, Jordan tipped the sword up so that it would not hit the cockpit, but simply disable the enemy suit. His sword met with the GuAIZ, sparks flew in the hole he created, and the GuAIZ fell to the ground.

_Silber_

Dietrich smiled as he exited the cockpit of his GuAIZ. _Good work, kid. _He thought, as he headed towards Andy's jeeps. _I'm intrusting the new generation, to you. _

_**End song**_

_Meanwhile_

Drake's duel with the DEEP arms continued, and he knew he was in trouble as his power was almost out. However that also showed that the DEEP arms but be close to empty as well as it was using its beam weapons more than the Silver Frame was.

Drake drew out his Combine shield's beam boomerang, and tossed it at the CGUE. But it jumped up, and evaded it. Jordan fired a burst of rounds from his Gatling while it was in the air, but the CGUE evaded the shots. However, then the Boomerang made its returning trip, and the CGUE didn't see it as it sliced its legs off.

Drake caught the Boomerang with his hand, and placed it back into his shield. "That…was too close." He muttered. It was then Jordan and the Hero arrived after finishing off the GuAIZ and the rest of the Silber Team. "_Drake, you alright?_" Jordan asked.

"Ya, I'm fine." Drake replied. "That DEEP arm is down for the count though. Hey, did you install those energy cable things into your suit yet?" Jordan nodded, and from his wrist a cable latched onto the Silver Frame, and his power readings went back to 100%. "Thanks buddy!" he said. "I owe ya one; now let's get back to the fight." He then readied his Long-range rifle again, and prepared to support the others while the Hero headed for Darknal.

_Meanwhile_

John fired his RAIL cannons at the GeGET's only for them to evade yet again. He then dodged to the left missing another one that fired its beam rifle his way. He fired off a volley of his Pictus's into the GeGET, impacting against his beam rifle, destroying it. But the GeGET survived.

As the first one moved in with its beam saber, John growled as he caught it with his left Beam Claw. "Don't get cocky!" he shouted as he kicked the GeGET away and did a back-flip. He then simultaneously drew his Beam Claws again, and sliced the second GeGET's arm off, forcing it to retreat.

He then heard a low whistle. "_Wow, I guess you're not the Demon Lord for nothing, right?_" Chris said as the Raven flew next to them. John chuckled a bit. "True." He said. "But my suit is almost out of power. Care to give me a lift?"

_Meanwhile_

Jade flipped her suit into MA mode as she ascended into the skies. She then transformed back into MS mode and got off a few shots with her 55mm Gunpod against her opponent, a GeGET. However this GeGET was piloted by none other than the Red Swallow himself.

Jade fired her remaining shoulder missiles against the GeGET witch backed away firing both of it's 110mm machine cannons to avoid getting blown out of the skies. Jade then transformed into MA mode and headed against the GeGET. When it destroyed her missiles, Jade flew past the smoke of the explosion, switched to MIX mode, drew her Beam Saber, and sliced off the Swallow's left leg.

"_Jade, behind you!_" Liz shouted out. Jade turned just in time as the second GeGET charged towards her with its Beam Saber's drawn.

However, the GeGET was then hit by a yellow beam from the distance, blowing away its head and arm. "_Ha! I'm back in the Game!_" Drake shouted on the Radio. "_Jade, you alright?_"

"I'm fine, Drake." Jade said. The Two GeGET's decided they had enough, and decided to retreat.

Jade sighed as the Raptor transformed next to her in MS mode. "_I can already see a lot of Ryu in you, Jade._" Liz said, causing Jade to smile. "I guess it runs in the family." She said. "Come on, let's finish the fight."

_Meanwhile_

"That fourth machine is back up," said Calista as she turned to face the BuCUE Darknal downed earlier in the fight. Lifting her machine rifle, she opened up on the machine, but the quadruped mobile suit evaded the shots with little apparent effort. "What the…? This guys better than all the other pilots!" Said Calista.

The BuCUE surged forward and tackled Calista's GINN, tearing apart the chest armor with its forelegs. "Ugh! That fighting style…It's the Tiger!"

Darknal ducked under the tackle of one of the other BuCUEs and aimed his rifle, ready to destroy the machine. But as he pulled the trigger, missiles streaked and hit Darknal's GINN, throwing his aim off, and the beam went wide. Luckly, the shot didn't do too much damage to his suit, but his thruster's were damaged from the shot.

"Formation Delta now!" ordered Waltfield

Obeying the orders, the other two BuCUEs formed up alongside their commander.

Then the Hero appeared next to the two GINN's. "You two alright?" Jordan asked.

"_Ya, we're fine Jordan._" Darknal said. "_But my thrusters took a bad hit._"

"_I lost my sniper rifle earlier._" Calista said. "But I still got my back-up rifle."

"Right, you two form up on me." Jordan said as they took up flanking positions with Jordan.

Calista then fired Twin rounds from her rifle, but the BuCUEs dodged them, and the left one slammed into Calista, while turretless right one rammed Darknal's, trying to tear into its chest armor.

The lead BuCUE attempted to tackle the Hero, but Jordan angled it away with his left Exia Kai. Still shaken, though, he couldn't react in time before the BuCUEs spun around and let loose a barrage of missiles, one impacting on each faceplate.

While the Hero managed to block most of the others with its shields, Darknal took almost the entire payload of twelve missiles in the torso.

"Damn it!" cursed Darknal, struggling to keep his GINN upright even as his power readings dived towards the red zone. "Jordan, we have to get up into the air or we're toast!"

"_I know!_" said Jordan as the two machines jumped into the air.

Unfortunately, their actions had been anticipated, as the BuCUEs leapt up after them, ignoring Calista's downed GINN all together. The Tiger shifted his BuCUE's shoulder out of the way of the Hero's Igelstellung and tore at its PS armor the same as he'd done for Calista's GINN earlier, sending the white and blue mobile suit careening towards the ground. Darknal, meanwhile, was in even bigger trouble, as the armed BuCUE let loose two waves of missiles, most of them hitting the Composite shield he had, while the last BuCUE once again tackled its target, slamming the mobile suit into the ground with the quadruped ground-based powerhouse landing atop it.

"Damn, I'm out of power!" shouted Darknal.

"_Don't worry, I've got your back!_" came Calista's voice as her GINN shouldered the BuCUE off Darknal and took up its Bayonet, ready to defend the vulnerable machine in spite of the tremendous beating the GINN had already taken.

"Leave those two alone, for now." Waltfield said. "This last one and the Hero is one of the toughest in the Legged Ships arsenal. Now let's go!"

"_Yes sir!_"

"Now, you weird and wonderful pilot," said Waltfield, grinning like a maniac as the three machines charged in at the Hero. "How are you gonna get outta this mess?"

Instead of worrying, Jordan took a deep breath.

"I am not…gonna let you win!" Jordan shouted as a Jewel-like golden seed bounced in his mind, and a feeling of calmness washed over him.

**Begin Playing: 'Hero' by skillet**

The Hero immediately started glowing, and its eyes changed from Emerald to Sapphire.

The Hero suddenly blazed forward at full speed, leaving behind a glowing after-image as it weaved through the missiles so easily that it almost seemed as though it were mocking the ZAFT pilots. Eyes widened as it tossed its first Katana sword into the turret less BuCUE in the face, the pilot too stunned by the Hero's sudden increase in ability to properly react.

Jordan spun his machine around and fired twice with his Sword/Rifle's. The BuCUE evaded the first shot, but literally leapt right into the path of the second one, the beam piercing its hind leg, destroying it.

"Whoa…" said Calista, blinking in utter amazement.

"Amazing…" Jade said as she and the others just watched as the Hero fought them all off. John's eyes narrowed slightly. '_So he's awakened…_' he thought.

"Okay, now were in trouble," said Waltfield as he and his still moving wingman raced back towards the Hero, firing missiles the whole way. The white machine flipped, kicking up sand that detonated the missiles. Waltfield went around the sand cloud while the other pilot leapt over it. As he passed over, though, the Hero emerged below him, and fired a shot without spending even a second to aim, piercing the BuCUEs power plant and turret, destroying it.

Eyes widened further in disbelief. It was the same sort of split second marksmanship that the Hero pilot had shown in his last battle, when he took out the _Lesseps_ cannon shells before they could hit the _Archangel_.

"Now you've taken this way too far!" said Waltfield, charging at the seemingly oblivious Hero from behind. Cagalli tried to shout a warning, but before the words could even form in her throat, the Hero disappeared, leaving just it's after image as it dodged Waltfield.

A second later, Waltfield's BuCUE limped away with its surviving companion, both machines lacking one of their legs, though Waltfield's had also lost both wings and its head in the final engagement with the Hero.

"DaCosta, we're withdrawing!" said Waltfield. Then, he chuckled slightly as he looked over the damage readouts on his BuCUE and looked at his surviving wingman's turret less, three-legged machine. "Now that's my kinda guy. Been awhile since I had this much fun."

**End Song**

The Hero's ARC system deactivated, and it stood like a lone sentry in the desert as the ZAFT forces fled the area, before Jordan turned the machine to face the others. The other's were all standing, but the two GINN's didn't looked to be in good condition—Calista's GINN's chest armor was almost completely shredded to pieces, and the vulnerable metallic faceplate of Darknal's had been destroyed, exposing the inner components of the head.

Then, the Hero's head turned to face the Desert Dawn survivors.

John, too, looked out at the survivors and shook his head. This is why he some-what hated groups like the Desert Dawn. Few members of rebel groups ever truly understood the art of war. Most fought ruthlessly to kill their enemy regardless of the cost and most were passionate to the degree of blind fanaticism.

And worse, they prescribed to the eye for an eye philosophy. Such people were simply fuel for the fires of war.

Jordan moved the Hero next to the Desert Dawn fighters and descended on the zip line, removing his helmet and settling a glare on them.

"You trying to get yourselves killed?" he asked, somewhat coldly. "In a place like this… maybe now you've learned something from all this."

"That does it!" said Cagalli, angrily rushing forward to grab the front of Jordan's pilot suit. "You heartless moron! Look!" She motioned to the still body of Ahmed.

"They all fought desperately!" said Cagalli, voice just short of shouting. "We're all fighting desperately! All so that we can protect the people and things that are so important to us!"

Jordan had had enough.

_SMACK!_

Everyone stared, wide-eyed, none more so than Cagalli, as she delicately touched the cheek Jordan had just slapped in an almost brutal fashion.

"Wow. He didn't strike me as the type to hit a girl," said Calista.

"Well, someone needed to slap some sense into her anyway." John said.

"_Sure, but I never thought it would happen so literally,_" Chris said.

"What the hell can you protect when your feelings are the only weapons you've got?" demanded Jordan loudly. Cagalli remained silent, merely staring at him with wide eyes that held an odd spark of fear in them—a fear Jordan recognized instantly.

"Right now you may have the will, but you do not have the strength, I understand you wish to protect those things, but sometimes to protect you shouldn't fight, I'm not saying to give in, only there is a time and place, what if we weren't here today? What would have happened?" He looked around at them with a hard glare "You _all_ would've died, and there would be no one left to protect you loved ones."

Shrinking back slightly, Cagalli nodded her head almost meekly, while Jordan turned around and returned to the Hero.

Once inside, he activated his radio—his machine was the only one with enough power to cut through the N-jammer interference.

"Jordan here," he said. "_Archangel_, we could use a pickup. Darknal's GINN is out of power, and both his and Calista's GINN's took heavy beatings as well."

"_Understood,_" said Mir. "_I'll forward that to the others._"

"Thanks."

Ending Theme: 'Unlimited Sky' by Tommy Heaveny6

Link: http : / www . youtube . com / watch?v=QhDlnWE9qCQ


	14. Notice

**Ok, I know you were all expecting this to be the next chapter of this fic, but I have some Bad news, and some good news. **

**The Bad News is that I am going to stop writing the following fics:**

**Gundam SEED Miracle**

**Gundam SEED Miracle Ver.2**

**Gundam SEED Dynasty**

**Gundam SEED Vestige**

**Gundam SEED Song of Redemption**

**Gundam SEED Nation of the Stars**

**The Reason why I am cancelling these fics is because I am having trouble keeping track of them. Their all Gundam SEED Fics, so its easy to get them confused. **

**But now the good news! Though I am going to stop writing those fics, I am now working on a new Gundam SEED Fic that will be acting as a replacement. What I am doing is Merging elements from the fics above, and putting them together into a single fic. This new fic will be called simply:**

**Gundam SEED Miracle Re-visioned**

**Hey, I like the title of Miracle! That and I couldn't think of a better name for the fic. I am working on this fic as we speak, and I hope to post it soon for you all to enjoy! So please be patient, and you will not be disappointed!  
><strong>


End file.
